Amazon is seeking to offload about $8 billion worth of advanced Nvidia chips to investors through a new financing vehicle, the Financial Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The proposed transaction would involve thousands of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips that Amazon is installing in data centres across the United States. In recent weeks, Amazon has held discussions with investors to assess interest in a structure that would transfer the chips into a special-purpose vehicle, according to the report.
Under the proposed arrangement, Amazon would lease the chips back from the special-purpose vehicle, or SPV. The vehicle would raise money from outside investors through debt issuance, allowing Amazon to shift ownership of the expensive semiconductors away from its balance sheet while continuing to use them for its operations.
The structure could give Amazon a more asset-light approach to financing its rapidly expanding artificial intelligence infrastructure. Rather than retaining the full cost of the chips as assets, the company would receive financing from investors while making lease payments to continue using the equipment.
Amazon plans to offer investors an equity stake of up to 10% in the vehicle, the Financial Times reported.
The chips involved in the proposed transaction were bought or leased by Amazon and have been installed in more than a dozen US data centres across five states, including Nevada and Virginia, according to the report.
The proposed financing comes as Amazon deploys large quantities of advanced computing hardware for its data-centre operations. Nvidia’s Grace Blackwell systems combine computing and graphics-processing technology designed for demanding artificial intelligence workloads.
The arrangement would allow outside investors to gain exposure to the value of the chips while Amazon retains access to the hardware. The special-purpose vehicle would be responsible for raising debt against the assets, according to the Financial Times.
Amazon and Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters outside regular business hours.
The report did not indicate that a transaction had been completed, and discussions with investors were described as an effort to gauge interest in the proposed structure.
