Amazon Hides $8B Nvidia Chip Bill in Special-Purpose Vehicle

Amazon is exploring an innovative financing solution to address its growing need for high-end AI chips. The e-commerce giant plans to move $8 billion worth of Nvidia's Grace Hopper chips off its balance sheet by creating a special-purpose vehicle (SPV).

The SPV would buy the hardware and raise funds from outside investors through debt issuance, while Amazon leases the equipment back.

This setup allows Amazon to maintain control over its AI infrastructure rollout without showing the full cost on its financial statements. The Financial Times reported that Amazon may offer up to a 10% equity stake in the SPV to attract capital from external investors.

The move could repackage AI spending into asset-backed debt, creating a new corner of the market for bonds supported by Amazon's lease payments and collateralized by high-end AI chips. Credit analysts would still treat these long-running lease obligations as real claims on cash flow.