Sources revealed on Friday that multiple banks are negotiating a new loan of up to $38 billion with Oracle (ORCL.US) and data center developer Vantage Data Centers. The funds will be used to expand OpenAI's infrastructure, refocusing market attention on the ecosystem built by OpenAI and its partners, including Oracle, Microsoft, and Amazon.

Recently, news of Meta Platforms, Inc. (META.US) purchasing TPU chips from Alphabet (GOOGL.US) stirred market discussions, prompting a reassessment of Alphabet's AI capabilities and sparking debates about the "Google AI Chain." This development has also put pressure on companies closely tied to OpenAI.

Earlier, on October 24, insiders indicated that banks planned to launch a $38 billion syndicated debt financing as early as October 27. If successful, this would become the largest leveraged loan in AI infrastructure. The deal, led by JPMorgan and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, will split the funds into two senior secured credit facilities: $23.25 billion for a Texas data center project and $14.75 billion for a Wisconsin project.

The centers, developed by Vantage and operated by Oracle, will provide computing power for OpenAI as part of their "Stargate" initiative—a $500 billion AI infrastructure plan over five years. After initial underwriting allocations, Wells Fargo, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Société Générale secured portions of the deal. JPMorgan, Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui, and OpenAI declined to comment, while Oracle, Vantage, and other banks did not immediately respond.

Vantage's two loans carry a four-year term with two one-year extension options, priced at the benchmark rate plus approximately 250 basis points. Interest-only payments apply during construction, with principal amortization starting post-operation.

Investors' strong demand for AI-related assets has spurred banks and private credit firms to pursue large-scale financing. Notably, Meta recently selected PIMCO and Blue Owl Capital to lead a $29 billion hybrid debt-equity financing for its Louisiana data center. The bonds traded robustly in secondary markets, rising 10 cents (per dollar face value), generating roughly $2 billion in paper gains for PIMCO.