Anthropic Receives KBRA BB+ Rating, Just One Tier Away from Investment Grade
The Financial Times reported that KBRA granted Anthropic a BB+ issuer rating as early as June this year, which is the highest speculative grade and just one tier away from investment grade. This rating had not been publicly reported before.
The rating appeared before a $35 billion chip financing led by Apollo and participated in by Blackstone. This transaction involves a special purpose vehicle purchasing Google/Broadcom-related TPUs and leasing them to Anthropic, with approximately $4.4 billion of subordinated debt directly bearing Anthropic's credit risk, rated BB+ with a stable outlook and a yield of about 8.5%; the remaining portion is guaranteed by Broadcom with senior debt at an interest rate of about 5.75%.
The KBRA rating is based on limited financial disclosures: Anthropic provided first-quarter revenue, adjusted operating profit, annualized run rate, and internal forecasts for the second quarter, but did not provide free cash flow or EBITDA. Analysts estimated based on this and used a risk score rather than a complete financial model. At that time, the company's own balance sheet had no debt, relying on partners and SPV structures.
Broadcom is raising about $60 billion in collaboration with Wall Street banks to support AI chip purchases for companies like Anthropic, structured to include about $42 billion of senior debt guaranteed by Broadcom and about $18 billion of subordinated debt. Anthropic and Broadcom have also reached an arrangement for up to $42 billion in convertible bonds to pay for TPU leasing costs, which can be converted into Anthropic equity, covering about one-third of its $125.2 billion five-year TPU leasing commitment.
These transactions involve different financing structures and potential overlaps, making simple addition inappropriate. The rating and financing structure bring Anthropic close to investment grade under limited disclosures, potentially lowering future borrowing costs and attracting a broader range of institutional funds; beneficiaries include Broadcom (from chip sales and guarantee revenues) and related private credit institutions, while subordinated debt investors bearing Anthropic's credit risk face higher yields and limited information risks.
Source: Public Information
ABAB AI Insight
Anthropic has previously expanded mainly through equity financing and partner support. The $35 billion SPV transaction led by Apollo and Blackstone in June 2026 marks its first large-scale acquisition of TPU computing power through structured debt, achieving a KBRA BB+ rating under limited disclosures, continuing the trend of AI labs moving from equity-driven to debt-leveraged infrastructure.
In terms of capital pathways, Broadcom plays multiple roles as chip supplier, lessor, lender of up to $42 billion in convertible bonds, and guarantor of senior debt, reducing senior debt costs through residual value guarantees while retaining some risk in subordinated debt; the motivation is to secure Anthropic as its largest customer and convert chip demand into long-term financing needs, forming a closed-loop supplier financing model.
Analogous to the structures in the aviation and energy sectors that securitize equipment leasing through SPVs and residual value guarantees, the current phase is one of expanding AI computing power from self-capital expenditures to large-scale private credit and bank joint financing; unlike Nvidia, which mainly relies on direct sales, Broadcom deeply binds customers through financing arrangements.
Essentially, this represents capital concentration: AI infrastructure financing is shifting from decentralized equity to a concentrated model dominated by chip manufacturers' guarantees and structured debt; the mechanism arises from the enormous scale of TPU capital expenditures, while laboratory cash flows and disclosures are limited, allowing suppliers to inject their own credit into transactions through guarantees and convertible bonds, enabling subordinated debt investors to directly price Anthropic's risks while accelerating the concentration of computing power supply among a few manufacturers.
ABAB News · Cognitive Laws
- Guarantees reduce costs, subordinated debt defines risks
- Limited disclosures can still approach investment grade
- Supplier financing equals customer lock-in