Blackstone told investors Anthropic may not receive an investment-grade rating immediately after going public, a reversal from its previous guidance that would complicate the AI lab’s ability to finance its massive spending.
The private capital giant told investors in Anthropic’s latest $63bn chip financing deal that the start-up is expected to receive a “high” junk rating from major credit rating agencies after its initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter.
Blackstone is acting as an anchor investor on the deal, known as “Project North Star”, and is working with banks that stumped up financing on selling the debt on to other investors.
Anthropic filed to go public on Monday, setting up what could be the largest listing of all time next month. The AI lab’s prospectus sketched out its “bold but sane” plans to spend more than $800bn on computing infrastructure between now and 2045.
An investment-grade credit rating is central to those ambitions, enabling Anthropic to borrow at lower rates to finance its AI infrastructure projects. The group has cash and equivalents of more than $112bn, and investors anticipate it could raise about $100bn more in the IPO.
Edit: Use Unwall to get around the paywall
the start-up is expected to receive a “high” junk rating from major credit rating agencies after its initial public offering
Not a good day for the AI boosters, to quote Ed Zitron.
I can’t believe that selling services that nobody needs at prices nobody can afford while also taking a loss on selling said service isn’t a successful business model.
I can understand why private equity would want to buy in or lend at high rates, but why would they even qualify for a high junk rating? The term junk is a little misleading. A high junk rating is actually still pretty good. The company reported an $80 billion net loss for the first half of 2026. Anyone know why they would be given credit?
Anyone know why they would be given credit?
Because they’ve been bleating on about how they’ll replace almost all software development, which surely will make them such a critical pillar of any industry relying on software that they’ll be able to print money! Or at least keep growing infinitely, since, as Ed Zitron has laid out, growth is pretty much all that modern investors seem to care about.
Specifically, Anthropic’s Chief Bullshitter has claimed that in 3 to 6 months, AI will be writing 90% of the code software developers were in charge of. That was back in Mar 2025. Apparently, that panned out so well, that he doubled down in Jan 2026, again claiming that AI Models Will Replace Software Engineers In 6-12 Months (the original article this one points to seems to be a dead link, which makes me wonder whether they took it down after it turned out bullshit).
I imagine there are enough gullible people that fall for it or gamble on the fact that they’re too big to fail and surely will get bailed out if they get in hot water.
Because they believe that they can sell the shit later, at a higher price, to some suckers.
