Morgan Stanley is pitching data center developers on raising money through leveraged loans rather than traditional bond offerings, according to a report on June 22, 2026. The bank expects the market to reach roughly $15 billion in 2026 alone.
AI Infrastructure Finance · Morgan Stanley
Wall Street Reaches for a New Pipe to Fund the AI Build-Out
Morgan Stanley is steering data-center developers toward the leveraged-loan market —a corner of finance built for buyouts—to bridge a $1.5 trillion funding gap that hyperscaler cash alone can't close.
$2.9T
Global data-center CapEx, 2025–2028
$1.5T
Funding gap beyond hyperscaler cash
$800B
Expected private-credit share of the gap
Who funds the $2.9 trillion?
Two stacked columns, drawn to scale — hyperscaler cash covers under half; the rest must be raised.
$1.4T
Hyperscaler
$1.5T
Funding gap
From bonds to buyout-style debt
The financing toolkit widens — opening a new investor pool for non-investment-grade AI developers.
IG bonds · project finance · ABS / CMBS · high-yield
→
Leveraged loans
→
CLO managers buy in, drawn by long-term hyperscaler contracts
The price of money already raised
Coupons climb sharply down the credit ladder.
Meta $27B · CoreWeave $3.75B HY bond · xAI ~$5B (fixed portion). Bars show coupon rates to scale.
↑ The bull case
AI data-center debt is maturing into a full-fledged asset class. 2025 ABS/CMBS issuance is running 50%+ above the prior year's $11.6B, and a new $15–20B of AI leveraged finance is expected in 2026.
↓ The caution
JPMorgan sees up to $350B of high-yield and leveraged loans over five years. Surging debt burdens could amplify the pain if the AI build-out cools into a downturn.
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