Tech & AI
AI infrastructure listings stall as CoreWeave bonds slide, leaving Anthropic alone on the autumn tech IPO calendar
Data-centre and cloud-computing companies including Switch, Nscale, SB Energy, AirTrunk REIT and Firmus have delayed, paused or pulled offerings as rising rates hit AI operators' shares and debt.
HedgeWeekly Tech & AI Desk ·
A string of AI infrastructure companies have pushed back stock-market listings, leaving Anthropic as the only major technology IPO still on the autumn calendar, Reuters reported on October 22. Data-centre operator Switch and AI cloud provider Nscale moved their plans to later in the year, with Nscale's delay partly due to responding to comments from US Securities and Exchange Commission staff, according to a person cited by Reuters. SoftBank-backed SB Energy postponed its listing, and Blackstone-backed AirTrunk REIT and Nvidia-backed Firmus pulled or paused their offerings.
Reuters linked the retreat to rising interest rates, which have driven a sharp selloff in the shares and bonds of AI operators, and to growing scrutiny of whether demand will justify the heavy capital spending data centres require. Australia's Firmus began marketing its IPO on October 6 and shelved it within three days, citing weak investor appetite, PitchBook reported. South Korea's Elice, often described as a Korean version of CoreWeave, fell more than 32% on its KOSDAQ debut despite a heavily oversubscribed book. PitchBook also reported that Microsoft cancelled a UK data-centre deal with Nscale on October 19.
Debt markets show the strain. CoreWeave, a US provider that rents out Nvidia-powered computing capacity, saw its $2.75 billion of 9.75% notes due 2031 fall to 79.25 cents on the dollar on October 20, a yield of about 15.97%, while its $1.25 billion of 9.625% notes dropped to 77.5, yielding 15.70%, according to PitchBook. Anthropic, by contrast, is still aiming for a mid-November listing at a valuation of up to about $1.5 trillion, with investor marketing expected to start the week of November 9, people familiar with the matter told Reuters; the plans could change.
Why it matters: listings and high-yield bonds have been key funding routes for the neocloud and data-centre groups building AI capacity, so a shut window raises their cost of capital just as spending plans grow. Bond yields near 16% suggest investors are pricing in real refinancing risk for the most leveraged builders, and could push them towards equity or convertible issuance at depressed share prices. Watch Anthropic's public filing and pricing as a test of appetite for AI risk, whether delayed issuers return before year-end, and any further contract cancellations by hyperscalers.