Amazon seeks to offload $8 billion of Nvidia chips to investors, FT reports

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

Amazon sounded out investors over the past few weeks on their appetite for the deal, the report says. Under the plan, thousands of Grace Blackwell chips that Amazon is installing in US data centers would move into the SPV, which would raise money from outside investors through debt issuance; Amazon would then lease the chips back.

What the deal involves

Amazon would offer investors a stake of as much as 10% in the vehicle, the FT said. The company bought or leased the chips in question, which sit in more than a dozen US data centers spread across five states, among them Nevada and Virginia.

Why it matters

The FT frames the plan as a more asset-light approach to the balance sheet: ownership of the costly chips would pass to the vehicle's outside investors, while Amazon keeps using them under the lease.

Comment

Amazon and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours, Reuters said.

Sources: Financial Times · Reuters