Nvidia is preparing to raise at least $20 billion through a new bond sale, marking its first return to the corporate debt market since the artificial intelligence boom pushed the chipmaker to the centre of global technology spending.
The company outlined the planned financing in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, although it did not give a target amount. People familiar with the matter said the sale is expected to start at no less than $20 billion and may rise towards $25 billion if investor demand remains strong. Nvidia had previously said it could issue up to $25 billion in unsecured commercial paper notes.
The move comes as the cost of building AI infrastructure climbs across the industry. Cloud providers, AI developers, and large technology groups have been racing to secure chips, servers, networking equipment, and data centre capacity, creating a financing wave among companies tied to the AI trade.
Alphabet, Amazon, and Super Micro have also turned to capital markets this year to support expansion plans and hardware purchases.
For Nvidia, the planned borrowing highlights how quickly the company’s scale has changed. Its last debt sale in 2021 raised $5 billion, when the business was still far smaller than it is today. Nvidia reported about $27 billion in revenue for fiscal 2022, compared with $216 billion in fiscal 2026, after demand for its graphics processing units accelerated following ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022.
The company has about $7.5 billion in long-term debt and roughly $1 billion in short-term borrowings. An Nvidia spokesperson said the proceeds would be used for general corporate purposes, including the repayment and refinancing of existing debt.
The bond plan also follows Nvidia’s expanded shareholder return programme. In May, the company lifted its dividend and announced an $80 billion stock buyback. It generated $49 billion in free cash flow in its latest quarter, up from $35 billion a year earlier, and told investors it intends to “return roughly 50% of free cash flow to shareholders this year.”
Nvidia shares rose 3.5% on Monday and are up about 14% this year.