Blackstone now expects Anthropic to get junk credit rating after IPO

Blackstone, the anchor investor in a $63 billion financing for Anthropic's AI chips, now expects the artificial intelligence company to receive a "high junk" credit rating after its stock market listing, according to a newspaper report published on Friday, October 30, 2026. According to the report, Blackstone has told investors that Anthropic is likely to be rated in the double-B range, below investment grade, reversing its earlier guidance that the Claude maker would win an investment-grade rating. The change of view reportedly follows feedback Blackstone received from credit rating agencies. Anthropic and Blackstone declined to comment, and none of the three largest rating agencies, Moody's, S&P and Fitch, has formally rated the company.

Credit ratings decide how cheaply a company can borrow. An investment-grade rating, BBB- or above, tells lenders that the risk of default is low; anything below that is classed as speculative or "junk", even at the top end of the junk scale. The difference matters a great deal for a company planning to spend on the scale of the frontier AI labs. Reports put the infrastructure plans tied to Anthropic at more than $800 billion, much of it for computing capacity. Even a small increase in the interest rate on borrowing of that size adds up to billions of dollars over time.

A junk rating also narrows the pool of lenders. Many pension funds and insurance companies, which are among the biggest buyers of corporate bonds, face limits on how much below-investment-grade debt they can hold. If Anthropic's debt is rated BB, a part of that market becomes harder to reach, and the company may have to rely more on private credit funds such as Blackstone's.

The report is also a signal about how credit markets view the AI boom. Equity investors have valued AI developers on their growth and potential. Credit analysts look at a narrower question: can the company reliably pay back what it borrows? For a young company with very large spending commitments, that answer is less certain, whatever its revenue growth. Blackstone's change of view suggests the rating agencies are, for now, giving those commitments heavy weight.

For founders and start-ups worldwide, including in India, the episode is a reminder that the AI race is increasingly a financing race. Large models need large amounts of capital, and how that capital is raised, whether as equity, private credit or bonds, shapes who can compete.

Short-term: The expected rating does not stop Anthropic's listing, but it may affect how its chip financing and any future bond deals are priced. Investors in the $63 billion financing will be watching for formal ratings once the company is public.

Long-term: If Anthropic can show steadier cash flows after listing, its rating could improve over time; if losses and spending stay high, it may keep paying more to borrow than larger, profitable technology companies. The case is likely to be studied by other AI developers planning to fund computing capacity with debt.

Who is affected: Anthropic and its shareholders; Blackstone and other lenders in the chip financing; pension funds and insurers deciding whether they can hold the debt; competitors raising capital for AI computing; and the wider AI start-up ecosystem that relies on investors' confidence in the sector.

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