AI-relate global debt issuancce is set to more than double in 2026, reaching almost $570 billion, according to analysis from Morgan Stanley.

The findings point to increases in credit market and bond supply activity, as AI firms turn away from traditional invesment to fuel their high expenditure.

In May 2026, global debt issuance related to AI was at nearly $236 billion, according to Morgn Stanley.

Debt issuance is a financial obligation that allows a company to raise investment by promising to repay the lender, often an investor, at a future point depending on agreed terms.

It allows organisations to borrow directly from an investor rther than going through a bank, and also means a firm can raise capital without diluting ownership or voting rights to an investor.

Top AI firms, spurred on by the AI race, global demand, and heightened costs, have announced major spending plans. Hyperscalers require intesive infrastructure to make their AI systems possible, requiring mass amounts of capital influx.

OpenAI and Anthropic, despite both intending to go public on the stock market, have yet to turn over a profit on their AI.

Recommended reading

• Will AI Agents Be the Enterprise Disruptor of 2026?
• Comment | Will The AI Bubble Burst in 2026?
• Microsoft Tests AI Agents in Simulated Marketplace
• 80% of Firms Say Their AI Agents Have Taken Rogue Actions

This confluence of rising demand, infrastructure expenditure, and a ferevent rush for AI, is pushing issuance debts in AI to new heights.

Morgan Stanley estimates that the overall expenditure of hyperscalers will reach over $1 trillion in 2027.

What happens when AI companies will have to pay up? We’ll just have to wait and see.