Amazon Explores Offloading $8 Billion in Nvidia Chips to Investors
Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) is making waves as reports emerge that the company is exploring ways to offload approximately $8 billion worth of advanced Nvidia chips from its balance sheet. According to the Financial Times, Amazon has been in discussions with investors to move thousands of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips into a special purpose vehicle. This vehicle would then lease the chips back to Amazon, with outside investors funding the deal through debt issuance.
The plan involves offering investors an equity stake of up to 10% in the vehicle, while Amazon itself would retain no ownership interest. This strategic move is designed to bolster Amazon’s financial position by transferring the high costs of these chips to investors, allowing the company to adopt a more asset-light approach.
The structure of this deal reflects a broader trend among U.S. hyperscalers seeking less balance-sheet-heavy methods to finance their extensive data center expansions. A significant portion of data center costs stems from advanced chips used to train AI models. Amazon has announced plans to invest over $200 billion in capital expenditures this year, primarily through its Amazon Web Services cloud unit to purchase more chips and construct additional data centers.
As of the time of publication, Amazon shares are trading slightly lower, down 0.07% at $251.70, according to data from Benzinga Pro.