内容来源：https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/21/blackstones-jas-khaira-says-fears-over-ai-buildout-debt-are-overblown/

内容总结：

私募股权巨头黑石集团正将自身置于人工智能热潮的中心。该集团资深高管贾斯·凯拉上周在TechCrunch Disrupt大会舞台上就此进行了讨论。

黑石正通过多种策略进行投资布局，从向数据中心提供大规模贷款，到投资前沿AI模型和应用。今年早些时候，该集团成立了黑石N1（BXN1），作为其AI计划的旧金山核心枢纽，由凯拉领导，他为此从纽约搬迁至AI产业的核心地带。

与早期的移动互联网或SaaS等技术周期不同——那些领域允许企业以适度资本达到可观规模——向AI的转型需要惊人的投资量。这种资本需求正是黑石凭借其1.3万亿美元管理资产规模在此次技术变革中发挥关键作用的原因。

凯拉强调，黑石区别于传统风投机构之处在于其专注于算力融资，以及能够提供从债务到股权的灵活资本结构。而且黑石一直在积极投资。

“我们是当今超大规模云厂商之外最大的算力所有者，无论是投资新型云服务商、投资数据中心，还是能够战略性地利用这些算力来支持企业，”凯拉表示。

例如，BXN1在多项算力相关交易中发挥了关键作用，其中包括Crux AI——一家与谷歌合作将其定制TPU商业化的新型云服务商，黑石作为投资者承诺出资50亿美元。黑石还投资了成立四年的芯片初创公司Etched，其快速发展已引起投资者关注。新型云服务商是指出租AI GPU基础设施的云服务提供商。

黑石开创了一种融资结构，通过分析已签约客户合同并以GPU作为质押品，使其能够向风投支持的新型云服务商提供大规模贷款。

黑石的首笔此类交易发生在2023年，对象是CoreWeave——这家新型云服务商在ChatGPT发布后需求激增不久便找到了黑石。据凯拉称，尽管当时CoreWeave仅有“3000万美元收入和极低的盈利能力”，却向黑石申请了23亿美元贷款。

CoreWeave以其大量英伟达GPU的可观价值作为借款抵押，英伟达本身也是其投资者。黑石之所以对该贷款更有信心，还因为CoreWeave与微软等蓝筹客户签有合同。

这笔交易迅速成为黑石和其他信贷机构向CoreWeave及竞争对手新型云服务商提供数十亿美元后续债务的融资范本。

“我们重点关注的因素之一是客户的性质。如果客户是投资级客户——比如微软或Meta——风险就会相对该客户进行定价，”凯拉说。

在CoreWeave交易的成功基础上，黑石还达成了其他新型云服务商融资交易，包括今年早些时候与Coatue共同牵头为澳大利亚GPU供应商Firmus提供100亿美元信贷额度。

凯拉承认，近几周来，这些公司及其他新型云运营商积累的巨额债务负担已开始引发警示信号。仅CoreWeave的债务就已膨胀至约500亿美元，促使Altimeter Capital创始人布拉德·格斯特纳在最近接受CNBC采访时指出：“CoreWeave所提供的抵押品——实际上只有GPU——已经不够好了。他们过去用这种方式来获取低成本债务。”

凯拉表示，在信贷方面，市场的不安源于多重因素的叠加。9月利率有所上升，而高于预期的通胀信号表明借贷成本可能继续攀升。AI基础设施债务发行的大量涌入也加剧了这一局面。

“我们还看到信贷利差扩大，”凯拉说，他解释称贷款机构在已经更高的基准利率之上收取更高的溢价来为AI建设提供融资。“为Meta或微软的债务定价的资本成本已经扩大了，”他补充道，并指出即使是拥有庞大资产负债表和稳健盈利的科技巨头，借贷成本也在上升。

对债务成本上升的担忧已蔓延至股市。CoreWeave股价近几日下跌超过20%，而Firmus则取消了在澳大利亚证券交易所约300亿美元目标估值的IPO计划。

“最终，市场在那个估值水平上并不买账，因此我认为这笔交易未能完成，”凯拉在谈及Firmus取消上市时表示。

“市场正在思考，在利率上行的当下，新型云服务商的合理估值是多少，这些企业的合理定价是多少，”他说。

尽管部分基础设施提供商面临这些压力，AI企业对算力的需求仍然供不应求。它们的巨大胃口持续推动数据中心建设。

对于那些悲观论者担忧AI基础设施债务的大量积累可能导致广泛的信贷危机、甚至拖垮整体经济的说法，凯拉不以为然。“这不像2008年那种银行信贷摇摇欲坠的情况，”他说。

相反，他指出，由于绝大多数数据中心是为超大规模云厂商建设的，为其提供融资的债务最终“由世界上最具信誉的企业”背书。

除为数据中心提供资金外，黑石还通过今年与Anthropic和Hellman & Friedman共同成立的15亿美元合资企业“Ode with Anthropic”帮助企业采用AI。Ode提供前置部署工程师，帮助企业采用AI并将其整合到运营中，首先从黑石旗下280家投资组合公司开始。

当被问及黑石旗下公司是否从AI中获得了实质性收益时，凯拉承认“回报确实存在，但并不均衡”。他将技术采用描述为可能呈现“锯齿形模式”的过程，在怀疑者看来，这在采用率赶上之前可能表现为算力供应过剩。

中文翻译：

私募巨头黑石正将自己置于AI热潮的中心，公司资深人士Jas Khaira上周在TechCrunch Disrupt的舞台上如是说。

黑石正通过多种策略开出支票，从向数据中心提供大规模贷款，到投资前沿AI模型和应用。

今年早些时候，该公司成立了Blackstone N1（BXN1），这是一个位于旧金山的AI计划中心枢纽。该团队由Khaira领导，他从纽约搬迁至此，以便身处AI的震中。

与早期的科技周期（如移动互联网或SaaS）不同——那些周期允许企业以适度的资本达到可观规模——向AI的转型需要天文数字般的投资。正是这种对资本的需求，使得黑石凭借其1.3万亿美元的资产管理规模，能够在这一技术转型中扮演如此关键的角色。

Khaira强调，黑石与传统风投的区别在于其专注于算力融资，以及能够提供从债务到股权的灵活资本结构。而且它一直在积极投资。

“我们是当今超大规模云厂商之外最大的算力所有者，无论是投资新型云服务商、投资数据中心，还是能够战略性地利用这些算力来支持企业，”Khaira说。

例如，BXN1在多项算力相关交易中发挥了关键作用，其中包括Crux AI——一家与谷歌合作推出的新型云服务商，旨在将其定制TPU商业化，黑石作为投资者承诺投入50亿美元。它还投资了成立四年的芯片初创公司Etched，其快速发展已引起投资者的关注。新型云服务商是指出租AI GPU基础设施的云服务提供商。

黑石开创了一种融资结构，使其能够通过分析已签约的客户合同以及以GPU作为质押抵押品，向风投支持的云新型云服务商提供巨额贷款。

黑石的首笔此类交易发生在2023年，对象是CoreWeave——就在这家新型云服务商在ChatGPT发布后需求暴增不久。据Khaira称，尽管当时CoreWeave仅有“3000万美元的收入和极低的盈利能力”，它仍向黑石寻求了一笔23亿美元的贷款。

CoreWeave以其大量英伟达GPU的可观价值作为借款抵押，英伟达本身也是其投资者。黑石对这筆贷款愈发放心，还因为CoreWeave与微软等蓝筹客户签有合同。

那笔交易迅速成为黑石和其他信贷机构向CoreWeave及竞争对手新型云服务商提供数十亿美元后续债务的融资范本。

“我们重点关注的事情之一是客户的性质。如果客户是投资级客户——比如微软，或者比如Meta——风险就会相对于该客户来定价，”Khaira说。

在CoreWeave的成功基础上，黑石达成了其他新型云服务商融资交易，包括今年早些时候与Coatue共同牵头为澳大利亚GPU供应商Firmus提供100亿美元信贷额度。

Khaira承认，近几周来，这些公司及其他新型云服务商运营商积累的巨额债务负担已开始引发警示。仅CoreWeave的债务就已膨胀至约500亿美元，促使Altimeter Capital创始人Brad Gerstner在最近一次CNBC采访中指出：“CoreWeave所提供的抵押品——实际上只有GPU——已经不够好了。他们过去靠这个来获取廉价债务。”

Khaira表示，在信贷方面，市场的紧张情绪源于多重因素。9月利率有所上升，而高于预期的通胀信号表明借贷成本可能继续攀升。AI基础设施债务发行的大量涌入也无济于事。

“我们还看到信贷利差扩大，”Khaira说，他解释说贷款机构在已经更高的基准利率之上收取更高的溢价，以为AI建设提供融资。“为Meta或微软的债务定价的资本成本已经扩大了，”他补充道，并指出即使是拥有庞大资产负债表和稳健盈利的科技巨头，借款成本也在上升。

对债务成本上升的担忧已蔓延至股市。CoreWeave股价近几日下跌超过20%，而Firmus则取消了在澳大利亚证券交易所约300亿美元目标估值的IPO计划。

“最终，市场并不认可那个估值，所以我认为结果是，那笔交易没有完成，”Khaira在谈及Firmus取消上市时说道。

“市场在思考，在利率上行的当下，新型云服务商的合理价格是什么，这些业务的合理价格是什么，”他说。

尽管部分基础设施提供商面临这些压力，AI公司就是无法获得足够的算力来驱动其模型。它们的胃口持续推动数据中心建设。

Khaira淡化了末日论者的担忧——即AI基础设施债务的大量积累可能导致广泛的信贷危机，甚至更糟，令经济全面崩溃。“这感觉不像是2008年那种银行信贷摇摇欲坠的情况，”他说。

相反，他指出，由于绝大多数数据中心是为超大规模云厂商建设的，为其提供融资的债务最终“由世界上最具信誉的公司”背书。

除了为数据中心提供资金外，黑石还通过一个名为“Ode with Anthropic”的15亿美元合资企业帮助企业采用AI，该企业今年与Anthropic和Hellman & Friedman共同成立。Ode提供前沿部署工程师，帮助企业采用AI并将其整合到运营中，首先从黑石投资组合中的280家公司开始。

当被问及黑石旗下公司是否从AI中获得了实实在在的收益时，Khaira承认“确实有投资回报，但并不均衡。”他将技术采用描述为可能以“锯齿型模式”推进的事物，在怀疑者看来，这可能在采用率赶上之前就像是算力供应过剩。

英文来源：

Private equity giant Blackstone is putting itself at the center of the AI boom, firm veteran Jas Khaira discussed last week on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt.
It is writing checks via various strategies, ranging from offering massive loans to data centers to investing in frontier AI models and applications.
Earlier this year, the firm launched Blackstone N1 (BXN1), a San Francisco-based central hub for its AI initiatives. The group is led by Khaira, who relocated from New York to be at the epicenter of AI.
Unlike earlier tech cycles such as mobile or SaaS, which allowed companies to reach significant scale with moderate capital, the transition to AI requires staggering amounts of investment. That need for capital is precisely why Blackstone, with its $1.3 trillion in assets under management, could play such a critical role in this tech shift.
Khaira emphasized that Blackstone sets itself apart from traditional venture capitalists through its focus on compute financing and its ability to offer flexible capital structures, ranging from debt to equity. And it has been investing aggressively.
“We’re the largest owner of compute outside of the hyperscalers today, whether it’s investments in neo clouds, investments in data centers, and being able to use that compute strategically to support companies,” Khaira said.
For instance, BXN1 played a key role in several compute-related deals, among them Crux AI, a neocloud launched in partnership with Google to commercialize its custom TPUs, to which Blackstone committed $5 billion as an investor. It also backed four-year-old Etched, a chip startup whose rapid development has caught investor attention. Neoclouds are cloud providers that rent out AI GPU infrastructure.
Blackstone pioneered a financing structure that allowed it to lend massive sums to venture-backed cloud neoclouds by analyzing both committed customer contracts and using GPUs pledged as collateral.
Blackstone’s first such deal came in 2023 with CoreWeave, shortly after that neocloud saw demand explode following the launch of ChatGPT. Despite having only “30 million of revenue and minimal profitability” at that time, according to Khaira, CoreWeave approached Blackstone for a $2.3 billion loan.
CoreWeave was borrowing against the considerable value of its large collection of Nvidia GPUs, with Nvidia also an investor. Blackstone also grew more comfortable with the loan because CoreWeave had contracts with blue-chip customers like Microsoft.
That transaction quickly became the financing model for how Blackstone and other credit institutions provided billions in follow-on debt to CoreWeave and rival neoclouds.
“One of the primary things that we’re looking to is the nature of the customer. And if the customer is an investment-grade customer — let’s say it’s Microsoft or let’s say it’s Meta — the risk gets priced relative to that customer,” Khaira said.
Building on its success with CoreWeave, Blackstone struck other neocloud financing deals, including co-leading alongside Coatue a $10 billion credit facility for Australian GPU provider Firmus earlier this year.
Khaira acknowledged that in recent weeks, the large debt burdens accumulated by these companies and other neocloud operators have begun to raise red flags. Coreweave’s debt alone has since ballooned to about $50 billion, causing Altimeter Capital founder Brad Gerstner to note in a recent CNBC interview, “The collateral that CoreWeave is putting up which is really only GPUs is not good enough anymore. They used that in the past to get cheap debt.”
Khaira said that on the credit side, the market jitters stem from a combination of factors. Interest rates ticked up in September, and hotter-than-expected inflation signals that borrowing costs may keep climbing. The flood of AI infrastructure debt offerings isn’t helping either.
“We’re also seeing higher credit spreads,” Khaira said, explaining that lenders are charging higher premiums on top of already higher base interest rates to finance the AI buildout. “The cost of capital to price in debt for a Meta or a Microsoft has widened out,” he added, pointing out that even tech giants with massive balance sheets and solid earnings are paying more to borrow.
Concerns about the rising cost of debt have spilled into the stock market. Shares of CoreWeave dropped over 20% in recent days, while Firmus scrapped its planned IPO on the Australian Securities Exchange at a target valuation of roughly $30 billion.
“Ultimately, the market wasn’t there at that valuation, and so I think as a result, that deal didn’t get done,” Khaira said about Firmus’ cancelled listing.
“The market is thinking what is the right price for neoclouds, what is the right price for these businesses in this moment when interest rates are moving up,” he said.
Despite those pressures on some infrastructure providers, AI companies simply can’t get enough compute to power their models. Their appetite continues to drive data center buildout.
Khaira downplayed worries of doom-mongers that the massive accumulation of AI infrastructure debt could lead to a widespread credit crisis, or worse, crash the economy altogether. “This doesn’t feel like something where you’ve got 2008 banks that are shaky credits,” he said.
Instead, he pointed out that because the vast majority of data centers are built for hyperscalers, the debt financing them is ultimately backed “by the most creditworthy companies in the world.”
Beyond funding data centers, Blackstone is helping companies adopt AI through a $1.5 billion joint venture called “Ode with Anthropic,” formed alongside Anthropic and Hellman & Friedman this year. Ode supplies forward-deployed engineers to help companies adopt AI and integrate it into their operations, starting with Blackstone’s 280 portfolio companies.
When asked if Blackstone-owned companies are seeing tangible gains from AI, Khaira conceded that “there is definitely ROI, but it is uneven.” He described technology adoption as something that could move in a “sawtooth-type pattern,” which, to skeptics, can look like an oversupply of compute before adoption catches up.