Tech Giants Use Off-Balance-Sheet Financing for AI Datacenters
Major technology companies are using special-purpose vehicles to fund AI infrastructure, shifting over $120 billion in spending off their primary balance sheets.
Meta Platforms Incorporated, Oracle, xAI, and CoreWeave are utilizing off-balance-sheet financing structures and special-purpose vehicles to fund the construction of AI datacenters. This strategy enables these firms to raise billions for infrastructure without recognizing long-term debt obligations as liabilities on their primary balance sheets.
Reports indicate that technology companies shifted more than $120 billion in spending through these vehicles by December 2025. Goldman Sachs estimates that total hyperscaler spending on AI and datacenters could reach $5.3 trillion by 2030.
Critics have compared these accounting practices to the fraudulent structures that caused the 2001 collapse of Enron. Conversely, supporters argue that these investments are backed by strong market demand and physical assets. Recent data shows North American datacenter capacity increased by 36% last year, while vacancy rates fell to a record 1.4%, indicating that demand continues to outpace supply.
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