东京 -- 对于缺乏科技巨头雄厚资金实力的公司而言，美国人工智能数据中心的融资方式日益复杂，如果AI需求未能达到预期，可能会加剧风险。一些项目指望大公司帮忙分担尖端设施的巨额成本。
TOKYO -- Financing methods for U.S. artificial intelligence data centers are growing complex for companies that lack the deep pockets of tech giants, potentially heightening risk if AI demand fails to meet expectations. Some projects are counting on bigger companies to help cover the massive cost of cutting-edge facilities.
日本软银集团旗下的SB Energy已与OpenAI签署了一份为期20年的合同，为俄亥俄州一座规划中的美国数据中心提供产能。英伟达提供高达1050亿美元的担保，以防作为其AI芯片主要买家的OpenAI无法支付租赁费用。
SB Energy, a unit of Japan's SoftBank Group, has signed a 20-year contract with OpenAI for capacity at a planned U.S. data center in Ohio. Nvidia is providing a guarantee of up to $105 billion in case OpenAI, a major buyer of its AI chips, cannot make lease payments.
这种安排让SB Energy能够以较低风险获得资金。然而，如果英伟达退出担保人角色，数据中心建设方将需要寻找另一家具有高信用评级的公司来填补这一角色。
This arrangement lets SB Energy secure funding with less risk. Should Nvidia drop out of its role as guarantor, however, the data center builder would need to find another company with a high credit rating to fill that role.
据《纽约时报》本周报道，SB Energy正在推迟其原定的首次公开募股（IPO）。
SB Energy is delaying its planned initial public offering, according to a New York Times report this week.
越来越多的公司（如美国云计算服务商CoreWeave）正在以图形处理单元（GPU）——数据中心的关键组件——作为抵押物申请贷款。
A growing number of companies, such as U.S. cloud computing provider CoreWeave, are using graphics processing units -- a crucial component of data centers -- as collateral for loans. A total of $46.3 billion in GPU-backed financing had been confirmed as of August, according to a report by Federal Reserve researchers.
据美联储研究人员的一份报告，截至8月，已确认的GPU抵押融资总额达463亿美元。
A total of $46.3 billion in GPU-backed financing had been confirmed as of August, according to a report by Federal Reserve researchers.
直到2025年，向数据中心放贷的金融机构不仅要求抵押物，还要求与大型、信用良好的科技公司或其他客户签署租赁合同，且合同期限需超过贷款期限。
Until 2025, financial institutions that lend to data centers had demanded not only collateral, but also lease contracts with big, creditworthy tech companies or other customers extending beyond the duration of the loan. This year, with more credit rating information available, financing is available even with short leases.
今年，随着更多信用评级信息的获取，即使租赁期限较短也能获得融资。
If financial institutions offer large loans on their own, interest rates tend to be higher to reflect the increased risk. In 2023, CoreWeave borrowed at an interest rate of about 14.7%.
如果金融机构自行提供大额贷款，利率往往会较高，以反映增加的风险。2023年，CoreWeave的借款利率约为14.7%。
If financial institutions offer large loans on their own, interest rates tend to be higher to reflect the increased risk. In 2023, CoreWeave borrowed at an interest rate of about 14.7%.
现在，贷方已开始利用证券化来分散风险。摩根士丹利和三菱UFJ金融集团于5月为CoreWeave安排了首个可在二级市场交易的GPU抵押贷款融资，将利率降至约8.1%。
Now, lenders have begun using securitization to spread out the risk. Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group in May arranged CoreWeave's first GPU-backed loan facility that can be traded on the secondary market, bringing the interest rate down to around 8.1%.
一些评级机构对这类融资提出担忧。标普全球在8月的一份报告中指出，缺乏成熟的二手GPU市场，导致难以判断GPU在不再是新品后价值将下跌多少。
Some ratings agencies are raising concerns about such funding. In an August report, S&P Global noted the lack of a well-established market for secondhand GPUs, making it difficult to tell how much their value will fall once they are no longer new.
有人将其与2008年全球金融危机相提并论，当时建立在向低信用评分借款人发放次级贷款基础上的复杂交易崩盘。债务和担保框架越复杂，就越难评估借款人及其贷款带来的风险。
Some have drawn parallels to the 2008 global financial crisis, when complex deals built on subprime loans to borrowers with low credit scores collapsed. The more complicated debt and guarantee frameworks become, the harder it is to gauge the risks posed by borrowers and their loans.
大规模的Hyperion项目采用了不同的融资结构。Pimco等投资者购买了2049年到期的债券，为Meta与Blue Owl Capital在路易斯安那州建设的数据中心提供资金。
The massive Hyperion project has a different kind of financing structure. Pimco and other investors bought bonds maturing in 2049 to fund a data center being built in the state of Louisiana by Meta with Blue Owl Capital.
Meta仅持有前四年的100%租赁合同，并为后12年提供剩余价值担保，如果数据中心价值大幅下跌，风险将落在Pimco等投资者身上。
Meta holds a 100% lease contract for only the first four years and is providing a residual value guarantee for the next 12 years, putting the risk on Pimco and other investors if the data center's value drops substantially.
数据中心和AI的需求预计在可预见的未来将持续增长。英伟达预测，截至2028年1月的财年收入将增长70%。
Demand for data centers and AI is expected to keep growing for the foreseeable future. Nvidia forecasts a 70% rise in revenue for the fiscal year ending January 2028.
然而从长远来看，需求是否能证明每年1万亿美元的数据中心投资合理仍不确定。即使是Meta和Alphabet等科技巨头，也依靠发债来覆盖其巨额资本支出。
Over the long term, however, whether demand will justify $1 trillion in annual data center investment remains unclear. Even tech giants like Meta and Alphabet are relying on bonds to cover their massive capital spending.
市场走弱可能引发租赁付款延迟、GPU价格下跌以及贷款担保方利润下降。
A weakening of the market could trigger late lease payments, falling GPU prices and lower profits for loan guarantors.