The AI buildout's hidden debt gets a number: Nikkei puts the off-balance-sheet obligations of five US tech giants at $1.65 trillion, as the neocloud market enters "the colossal consolidation" and Oracle discloses a $100m-a-year bill just to guarantee power for one campus

The AI build-out's hidden financing finally has a number: Nikkei tallied the off-balance-sheet debts of five US tech giants at roughly $1.65 trillion, raised through opaque structures, special-purpose vehicles, leases, joint ventures and supplier commitments that function as debt. It landed as Data Center Dynamics declared the neocloud market in "the colossal consolidation," contracting rather than expanding, and as Oracle disclosed it faces more than $100m a year just to guarantee the power behind one nearly-1GW Wisconsin campus with Vantage and OpenAI, six days after credit agencies cut Oracle to the floor of investment grade. Meanwhile the trade war went two-way: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened sanctions on Chinese AI models over IP theft, while China weighs export controls that would bar its own chip designers from using TSMC. Also: Apple's reported "Upgrade" lease program as RAM shortages bite; Google's Gemini 3.6 Flash; and a judge's approval of Anthropic's $1.5bn author settlement.