The $10 trillion question: Financing the AI buildout

AI data center investment, projected at $10.3 trillion through 2032, is increasingly financed through off-balance-sheet leverage that obscures true risk concentration.

• $10.3 trillion buildout: Van Nieuwerburgh projects AI data center investment at 3.63% of U.S. GDP annually from 2025-2032, ~50% larger than the railroad boom's peak 2.2% and over 3x the 1990s internet boom's 1.1%.
• Cost model: Based on $4.1 billion per 100-megawatt facility in 2025 (two-thirds IT equipment, one-third real estate/power), rising 4% annually; headline ratio is not very sensitive to inflation or GDP-growth assumptions.

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