AI infrastructure financing competes with US Treasuries for long-term funds, putting pressure on long-term yields

On August 21, AI infrastructure investment is becoming a new variable in the U.S. bond market. Tech giants are expanding data centers, chip and computing power construction, and the demand for AI-related financing is rising, starting to compete with the U.S. government for funds from core buyers such as insurance companies, pensions, and long-term asset management institutions. As of August, the issuance scale of U.S. investment-grade corporate bonds has reached approximately $1.7 trillion, setting a historical high for the same period. According to Goldman Sachs, the four major U.S. tech companies have issued more than $170 billion in bonds this year, surpassing the total for the entire year of 2025. Broadcom is seeking to provide chip and infrastructure financing for AI companies like Anthropic, with potential debt size approaching $100 billion.

Institutions point out that AI is driving an overall expansion of duration supply in the bond market. With the government and tech companies simultaneously increasing long-term financing demands and a limited long-term funding pool, the market may require higher yields. St. Louis Fed President Bullard stated that a capital competition is forming between the U.S. government's financing needs and AI infrastructure construction. Recently, the yield on 30-year U.S. Treasuries rose to 5.34%, a new high since 2007, while the 10-year yield rose to 4.7%. High interest rates may raise corporate financing costs and affect AI company valuations through discount rates.

At the same time, there are signs of weakness in U.S. consumer data, with Walmart's stock price dropping about 9% in a single day, marking the largest decline since 2022. With economic growth slowing and inflation pressures persisting, the Federal Reserve's policy faces a dilemma. The U.S. Treasury has raised the single repurchase limit for 10-20 year and 20-30 year U.S. Treasuries from $2 billion to at least $4 billion. If long-end yields continue to rise, the market may revisit tools such as yield curve control or quantitative easing.