Amazon seeks to offload $8 billion of Nvidia chips to investors

Amazon is seeking to offload about $8 billion of advanced Nvidia chips to investors through a new vehicle aimed at strengthening its balance sheet, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

What the deal would look like

In recent weeks, Amazon has held talks with investors to gauge interest in an arrangement that would move thousands of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips into a special-purpose vehicle, or SPV. The chips are being installed in data centers across the United States. Under the proposal, the SPV would raise money from outside investors through debt issuance, and Amazon would lease the chips back from the vehicle.

Amazon plans to offer an equity stake of up to 10% in the vehicle, the report said. The chips involved were bought or leased by Amazon and are installed in more than a dozen US data centers across five states, including Nevada and Virginia.

Why it matters

The structure would give Amazon a more asset-light approach to its balance sheet. Instead of carrying the full cost of the semiconductors as assets, the company would receive financing from investors while making lease payments to keep using the hardware. Outside investors would gain exposure to the value of the chips, with the vehicle carrying the debt, according to the report.

The report did not indicate that a transaction has been completed, and the discussions were described as an effort to gauge interest. Amazon and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

What the chips are

Nvidia's Grace Blackwell systems combine the company's Grace CPU and Blackwell GPU technologies and are designed for demanding artificial intelligence workloads. Amazon is installing thousands of the chips as it expands its AI data-center capacity.