Google parent Alphabet sells $32 billion in bonds in 24 hours showing credit market appetite for tech, AI players

Google parent Alphabet Inc. on Tuesday raised nearly $32 billion in debt in less than 24 hours to support its artificial intelligence initiatives, marking record corporate bond sales in sterling and Swiss franc markets, according to Bloomberg.

It marked the biggest-ever corporate bond sales in the UK and Swiss markets and showed the enthusiasm and huge appetite from credit markets to fund the enormous needs of tech giants competing in the AI space, the report added.

Notably, the deals followed Monday’s $20 billion debt sale, and the sterling issue included an ultra-rare 100-year note — the first sale with such an extreme maturity by a technology firm since the dot-com era, Bloomberg added.

Alphabet raises $32 billion in bonds

Demand was high across the deals, at a record overall level for the sterling, with the 100-year bond drawing close to 10 times orders for the £1 billion ($1.4 billion) for sale. That bond was priced at just 1.2 percentage points above 10-year UK government bonds, while the shortest tranche — a three-year note — was priced at 45 basis points over gilts.

Such a wide range of maturities in different markets meant there was something for all kinds of investors — from asset managers and hedge funds to pension funds and insurers that favour longer-dated debt.

The deal hit the market less than a week after Alphabet said its capex could reach as much as $185 billion this year — double what it spent last year — to finance its AI ambitions.

Tech firms expect huge spends to fund AI ambitions

Software giant Oracle Corp. also recently raised $25 billion to fund its AI plans, drawing $129 billion of demand.

Other tech firms, including Meta Platforms Inc. and Microsoft Corp., have announced huge spending plans for 2026, while Morgan Stanley expects borrowing by the massive cloud-computing companies known as hyperscalers to reach $400 billion this year, up from $165 billion in 2025.

“Hyperscalers will keep coming and big,” said Andrea Seminara, chief executive of Redhedge Asset Management LLP, a London-based hedge fund. “They need to issue more, so they are testing everything, all the available pockets and appetite. And it will be the same for everyone,” he added, referring to other hyperscalers.

The massive borrowing needs of big tech firms have started to raise some concerns about potential pressure on bond valuations. The securities are expensive by historical standards. Some investors are also concerned about the longevity of the AI boom — and its disruptive effects on related firms, like those in the Software-as-a-Service sector.

Alphabet and Oracle both made moves to ease investor concerns over heavy supply. Alphabet tapped a range of typically more niche markets to raise large sums without overwhelming demand, while Oracle capped its deal size to limit the amount of debt hitting the market.

100-Year Bond — All you need to know

Alphabet’s 100-year note was the first sale with such an extreme maturity by a technology firm since Motorola sold this type of debt in 1997, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Governments and institutions, such as universities, dominate the market for 100-year bonds. For corporates, potential acquisitions, outdated business models and technological obsolescence make such deals a rarity.

“I could not justify taking such a long maturity bond in most companies — especially not one subject to an ever-changing landscape,” said Alex Ralph, co-portfolio manager of Nedgroup Investments Global Strategic Bond Fund. “100-year bonds tend to have a habit of calling the top of a market as well.”

Still, demand from UK pension funds and insurers has made sterling a go-to market for issuers seeking longer-dated funding, and investors turned out in force for the century bond.

Global corporates have also been turning to the Swiss franc bond market in recent years to diversify their debt-raising programmes. In 2025, US firms, including Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and construction equipment maker Caterpillar Inc., sold Swiss franc debt.

Alphabet tapped the euro bond market as recently as November, raising €6.5 billion ($7.7 billion). That deal, added to an issue earlier in the year, made the firm the biggest borrower in the euro market in 2025, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The £5.5 billion ($7.5 billion) sterling offering far surpassed the previous record corporate bond sale in the sterling market — a £3 billion sale by National Grid Plc in 2016. In the Swiss market, Alphabet’s sale edged out a prior record 3 billion Swiss franc ($3.9 billion) sale from Roche Holding AG.

Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. arranged both the sterling and Swiss franc offerings, with Barclays Plc, HSBC Holdings Plc and NatWest Group Plc also on the sterling deal. BNP Paribas SA and Deutsche Bank AG were on the Swiss franc issue.

(With inputs from Bloomberg)