Rishi Sunak thinks Big Tech is about to out-borrow the most famous borrower on Earth. The former UK prime minister said technology companies will issue more long-term debt than the US government in 2027, and he pinned the shift squarely on AI investment.
What Sunak actually said
Sunak made the call on October 13, 2026, at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi. He now serves as a senior advisor to Anthropic, the AI developer.
His projection centers on the so-called hyperscalers. These are the giant cloud and AI operators, including Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle.
The prediction is that these firms are on track to overtake the US government as net issuers of long-term debt next year. The money, in his framing, is going toward AI-related capital spending: data centers and the infrastructure that keeps them running.
The numbers behind the borrowing binge
By early September 2026, global AI-related debt issuance had reached approximately $450 billion, about double the 2025 total.
According to the Bank of England, hyperscalers accounted for 47% of sterling corporate bond sales in the UK so far in 2026.
Looking ahead, projections for hyperscaler bond issuance in 2027 sit in a range of $250-$400 billion.
JPMorgan predicts a total of $4.1 trillion in debt-fueled spending on AI between 2026 and 2030.
The Bank of England is watching closely
The Bank of England has flagged financial stability concerns tied to the AI borrowing wave, pointing to opaque financing structures as one risk.
The Bank of England has also raised the possibility of corporate debt pressures if AI’s promised productivity gains do not show up.
What this means for investors and borrowers
For bond investors, a flood of high-grade corporate supply could be a welcome development, offering more options for long-dated yield outside of government paper.
The 47% figure from the UK is worth watching as an early indicator. If hyperscalers keep taking that kind of share in other currency markets, Sunak’s forecast starts to look less like a bold call and more like a description of what is already underway.
The approximately $450 billion already raised this year and JPMorgan’s $4.1 trillion projection both assume that AI infrastructure will generate returns large enough to service the debt.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Diego Almada Lopez. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.