Five US Tech Giants Buried Under Debt Exceeding Rp 30 Quadrillion

Artificial intelligence is creating a new set of problems. Five United States technology giants are buried under debt thanks to AI development at each company. Nikkei reported that Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle are saddled with debt due to AI, with the amount reaching US$1.65 trillion (Rp 29,515 trillion). The report states that this debt sits off the balance sheets across all the companies. That figure is also continuing to rise. Nikkei explained that the debt has ballooned eightfold in just four years. This phenomenon is occurring as investment in the AI industry has also increased in recent times. The instruments included in the study are data centre leases and GPU supply contracts. All of these are obligations that constitute debt if paid regardless of demand, yet they are not recorded in the debt position when the market values equity. The report cited the example of Meta, which has off-balance-sheet obligations reaching US$420 billion (Rp 7,523 trillion), or three times the amount recorded. It should be noted that the companies’ debt is a construct and not a GAAP accounting item. The report did not detail the amount of debt for each individual company.