Citadel Securities Sees Over US$500 Billion in AI Chip Financing by 2028

Artificial intelligence (AI) chipmakers could raise more than US$500 billion in debt through public and private markets by 2028 to finance the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure, according to Citadel Securities LLC.

Growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure is expected to drive hundreds of billions of dollars in new debt issuance. [Photo: Citadel Securities X]

Caleb Mutua reported for Bloomberg News on Aug. 3, 2026 that the forecast reflects the enormous financing needs created by the construction of AI data centers.

According to Jeff Eason, head investment-grade desk analyst at Citadel Securities, the projected issuance would amount to more than 5 percent of the Bloomberg U.S. High-Grade Index by 2028.

Eason expects most of the debt to have maturities of three to five years, roughly matching the useful life of AI chips, with some financing likely to be issued through Rule 144A private placements.

"This has the potential to become one of the largest new sectors in investment-grade credit," Eason said.

Global financial markets have already absorbed roughly US$570 billion in AI-related debt, much of it issued by hyperscale technology companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Google, which continue to expand their data center capacity.

Since last year, U.S. markets have absorbed about US$60 billion in short-term AI-related debt. Citadel Securities estimates that chip manufacturers alone could issue more than US$250 billion in debt during 2028.