Alphabet to raise $84.75 billion in upsized equity offering to fund AI ambitions

Alphabet has increased the size of its equity offerings to $84.75 billion, in a sign of strong investor appetite for big tech companies as they expand their AI infrastructure and computing power. On Monday, the Google parent said it would raise $80 billion, as big tech companies compete to out-build each other with AI data centres to get ahead in what executives see as a once-in-a-generation AI race. In a filing dated June 2, Alphabet said it now aimed to raise $18 billion through the sale of Class A and C shares and $16.75 billion from depositary shares. It had earlier planned to raise $30 billion through concurrent public offerings backed by investment banks, split evenly between the two. The company’s plans to raise $10 billion through a private placement of shares to Berkshire Hathaway and another $40 billion at-the-market offering program in the third quarter remain unchanged. The stock offerings are set to finalise on June 4 with the depositary shares closing a day later, the company said. Alphabet raised its annual capital spending forecast by $5 billion to between $180 billion and $190 billion in April. The world’s largest tech companies are tapping debt markets and raising equity to bolster AI infrastructure, marking a shift for Silicon Valley firms that typically relied on cash to fund their investments. Tech giants’ combined spending is now set to exceed $700 billion this year, up from their prior expectations of about $600 billion.