Companies that had been pouring huge amounts of money into artificial intelligence (AI) investments ..

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The money line for AI investment also narrows…OpenAI cuts funding, slashes Meta credit outlook [Picture=ChatGPT]

Companies that had been pouring huge amounts of money into artificial intelligence (AI) investments have also begun to face pressure from financing. OpenAI has reduced its investment attraction target by $10 billion, and Antropic is expected to receive speculative rating credit ratings even after its initial public offering (IPO). Meta’s credit rating outlook has been lowered due to worsening cash flow caused by AI investment. Analysts say that companies’ financing conditions beyond the stock market are shaking as there are growing doubts about whether astronomical investments in AI infrastructure will return to actual profits.

According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 30th (local time), OpenAI recently lowered its funding target from $30 billion to $20 billion. Corporate valuation also fell $150 billion from $1.4 trillion a month ago to $1.25 trillion. As AI-related stocks continued to sell, some investors reduced the size of their investment agreements, and the first deadline was reported to fall short of the lowered target.

The IPO of competitor Antropic is also a burden. Antropics is preparing to go public on Nasdaq with a target of at least $1.5 trillion in corporate value in the middle of this month. The two companies are competing for funds over overlapping institutional investors. OpenAI raised $122 billion in March, but is seeking to attract additional investment to develop AI models and expand computing infrastructure.

Antropics has faced concerns that financing costs could rise even after going public. According to FT, Blackstone, the world’s largest private equity firm, recently told investors that Antropics is likely to remain in the upper speculative grade (BB) without receiving an investment grade after the IPO. Initially, it was expected to receive an investment grade by the end of this year, but the outlook was revised to reflect the opinions of major credit rating agencies.

Credit ratings are a variable that will influence Antropic’s large-scale investment plans. In its listing application, Antropics laid out plans to invest more than $800 billion in AI computing infrastructure by 2045. Failure to receive an investment eligibility grade will limit institutional investors’ investment in bonds such as pension funds and insurance companies and raise borrowing rates.

In fact, in the $63 billion financing transaction promoted by Antropics to lease Google AI chips, Broadcom, which has a high credit rating, guaranteed more than $42 billion in senior loans. Blackstone acquired $9 billion of subordinated debt on the condition of an annual return of more than 10%. Financial institutions demand high returns on AI developers’ investments, and semiconductor suppliers have a structure that reinforces credit. However, major credit rating agencies such as Fitch, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s have not yet released Antropics’ official credit ratings.

Big Tech, which directly makes large-scale AI infrastructure investments, is also under pressure. S&P Global Ratings downgraded Meta’s credit rating outlook to “negative” from “stable” on the 30th of last month. Although the credit rating remained at AA-, it cited a surge in AI facility investment and worsening free cash flow (FCF).

Meta plans to invest between $135 billion and $145 billion in AI infrastructure this year. In the third quarter, FCF turned into a deficit of $2.12 billion. S&P predicted that Meta’s FCF deficit will rise to $71 billion in 2027 and reach $39 billion in 2028. It is a reversal of the previous forecast that it expected to turn into a surplus in 2028.

The problem is the possibility of recovering investment costs. S&P evaluated, “Meta’s ability to monetize AI investments is more limited than its competitors.” While Microsoft (MS), Google, and Amazon make sales by lending cloud infrastructure to external customers, Meta relies on improving its advertising business and monetizing its own AI services. Meta immediately protested. “We respectfully disagree with S&P’s claims about AI monetization capabilities,” Meta spokesperson Kamran Mumtaz said. “We have significant product and business opportunities ahead of us to support very solid creditworthiness.”

Meta is also pushing for the issuance of shares worth $95 billion, the largest in the company’s history, to raise funds for AI investment. $35 billion will be immediately offered and $60 billion will be issued at the market price after listing non-voting stocks in the first quarter of next year. Investment bank William Blair predicted, “Investors will continue to question the financing method and the possibility of additional capital increase in the future.” “If facility investment remains high and increases faster than expected, creditworthiness will continue to weaken and cash flows will be negative,” said Naveen Sarma, general manager of S&P Global Ratings’s U.S. media and telecommunications division.

Such concerns are also changing the stock market. On the 30th of last month, Apple overtook Nvidia to regain its No. 1 position in global market capitalization for the first time in about three months. Apple’s stock price fell 1.2% on the day, but closed at $5.30 trillion in market capitalization. Nvidia plunged 4.2% to $4.93 trillion in market capitalization.

It is not because Apple has been ahead of the AI competition. Rather, it is analyzed that the strategy that was passive in investing in large-scale AI infrastructure is attracting investors’ attention. Apple shares are up 27% this year, more than double the second-largest Nvidia gain. It is the highest rate of increase among the seven major U.S. technology companies, Magnificent 7. Apple’s Fiscal Year 2026 FCF is expected to reach $142 billion, up 38% from the previous year. [Silicon Valley correspondent Wonho-seop]