The AI laboratory is expected to receive a credit rating in the double-B range following its debut on the public market, meaning it will likely miss out on investment-grade status. Blackstone told investors the “high junk” outlook is a reversal of its earlier projections that the startup would secure an investment-grade rating by the end of the year, the Financial Times reports.
The rating could increase borrowing costs for Anthropic as it executes a plan to spend more than $800B on computing infrastructure through 2045. To fund its growth, the company has relied on a $63B financing deal known as Project North Star, in which Broadcom guarantees $42B in senior loans. While Anthropic reportedly holds $112B in cash, a junk rating would restrict its access to capital from insurance companies and pension funds that are barred from investing in non-investment-grade debt.