Signs of financial strain are emerging in the AI infrastructure boom. Debt sold in August for an Oklahoma data center leased to trading firm Jane Street has weakened in secondary markets. Its price has fallen, while yields have risen significantly, signaling investor concern.
The weakness reflects a broader cooling trend. Global AI-related debt issuance fell by more than half in September compared with the previous month. It was just one-fifth of its June peak.
Shares of debt-reliant firms, including Oracle and data center operator IREN, have fallen amid concerns about rising interest rates. Investors are also showing greater skepticism toward the large capital outlays for AI, and several recent high-yield data center bonds have sold at a discount.
Anthropic has been making compute deals with non-traditional partners, including IREN, a former bitcoin miner, to diversify its infrastructure.