Amazon is exploring a deal to transfer about $8 billion worth of advanced Nvidia chips to outside investors, the Financial Times reported on October 2, citing people familiar with the discussions. Reuters reported the proposed transaction, which remains under discussion rather than a completed sale.
The arrangement would place thousands of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips into a special purpose vehicle, a separate entity that would raise financing from investors through debt issuance. Amazon would then lease the chips back, allowing it to continue using the hardware while changing how that infrastructure is financed.
According to the report, the chips were purchased or leased by Amazon and are installed across more than a dozen American data centres in five states, including Nevada and Virginia. Amazon plans to offer investors an equity stake of up to 10% in the vehicle. Amazon and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
The significance lies in the economics of the artificial intelligence boom. Advanced computing infrastructure requires enormous upfront investment, while the revenue generated by that capacity arrives over time. A sale and leaseback could release capital for Amazon and help spread financing needs across a wider pool of investors.
However, changing ownership does not eliminate costs. Amazon would still owe lease payments, and the effect on its balance sheet would depend on the transaction’s structure and accounting treatment.
For investors, the proposal raises questions about the durability of chip values, the strength of contractual protections and who bears losses when newer hardware makes existing equipment less competitive.
More broadly, the deal could demonstrate how financial markets increasingly fund AI expansion. Its importance is less about Amazon abandoning Nvidia hardware than about whether outside capital can support infrastructure growth on attractive terms, without obscuring the obligations and risks that accompany that spending.
Amazon seeks to offload $8 billion of Nvidia chips to investors, FT reports
Oct 2 (Reuters) - Amazon is seeking to offload about $8 billion of advanced Nvidia chips to investors through a new vehicle to strengthen its balance sheet, the Financial Times
