HONG KONG, Nov 3 — Tech companies will need to deliver more big-ticket fundraising deals to help meet the enormous demand for capital required by a growth boom in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry, global financial leaders said on Tuesday.
Tech stocks globally have faced pressure in recent weeks as growing concerns about AI spending trigger a new wave of selloffs, with combined spending set to exceed US$730 billion (RM2.97 trillion) this year, up from about US$700 billion (RM2.85 trillion).
Blackstone president Jon Gray, whose organisation is an active investor in AI infrastructure, said most major tech companies are expected to raise more capital to keep up with the enormous likely demand from the AI industry's growth.
"Now you are in an environment where the demand is running well ahead of supply," he said during the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, citing "pretty extraordinary" demand for computing power.
"So that gives me a lot of comfort. Meta and Google and Oracle raising equity...SpaceX going public, Anthropic going public.
"On top of it...the data centers, the energy needs are enormous," Gray added.
Strong companies with 'good stories'
Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon said that despite some AI-related market upheavals, strong companies with "good stories" could still raise capital, though the industry's strong growth could create volatility for investors.
"But things will go wrong too, and we will get things wrong. Investors will find situations where they pick wrong, where they lose money...it is important to have a balanced, diversified view," he said during the summit.
Morgan Stanley chief executive Ted Pick flagged emerging early signs of United States markets edging close to a correction, with a majority of stocks in major indices off nearly 10 per cent.
The latest test of investor appetite is a €6 billion (RM27.40 billion) bond sale on Monday by Google parent Alphabet.
Asia-Pac tech fundraising more than tripled
Fundraising by Asia-Pacific tech companies more than tripled to US$125.8 billion (RM512.6 billion) in the first three quarters of 2026 from US$36 billion (RM146.7 billion) a year earlier.
LSEG data indicated that the growth was driven by a wave of semiconductor and AI-related deals, such as Chinese chipmakers CXMT’s US$9.8-billion (RM39.94 billion) IPO and Enflame Technology's US$910.6-million listing (RM3.71 billion).
Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have signalled that AI spending will not slow.
Last week, in one of the largest debt deals tied to the AI buildout, Blackstone agreed to provide financing of US$63 billion (RM256.7 billion) with Bank of America, Citi, and Morgan Stanley to buy Broadcom's AI chips and networking gear for Anthropic.
Nonetheless, Gray noted that the rising cost of capital and some of today's scepticism will slow the pace.
"But the overall trend is towards greater investment and therefore more needs for multiple forms of capital," he said.
Asset manager PIMCO's chief executive officer Emanuel Roman said that AI financing deals are attractive, with more coming for the firm.
