A $1.5T data center funding gap is quietly becoming private credit's problem
Big Tech's own cash flow covers only about $1.4T of the ~$2.9T AI data center buildout through 2028, leaving credit markets to bridge the rest. Private credit is supplying the largest slice, roughly $800B, much of it collateralized by the GPUs inside the buildings. But chips are depreciated over six years, realistically useful for three or four, and rental rates have fallen 70-90% since 2023. That mismatch now has regulators and litigators circling: caveat emptor.