"Broadcom's $42 billion loan to Anthropic is a case of "reciprocal spending" that Reuters dug out of Anthropic's IPO prospectus on October 1, 2026: the chipmaker puts up the money, the AI company uses it to rent compute, and the TPUs behind that compute were co-developed by that same chipmaker. In a single deal, Broadcom is simultaneously the creditor, a future potential shareholder, and Anthropic's largest customer next year — which is exactly why Wall Street has begun questioning the deal's quality.
According to Reuters, Broadcom has agreed to extend up to $42 billion in loans to Anthropic, earmarked for AI infrastructure spending. In exchange, Anthropic will become the largest customer of Broadcom's chip design business next year. The financing takes the form of convertible notes that can convert into Anthropic equity; Broadcom may also designate a financing partner to participate. Anthropic stated in its prospectus that it does not expect to sell any of the notes before its IPO is completed.
Which bill the money actually covers
The $42 billion in convertible notes would cover roughly one-third of a five-year, $125.2 billion TPU compute leasing commitment by Anthropic. Where does the compute come from? Google and Broadcom have co-developed multiple generations of TPUs, expanded their partnership this April, and Anthropic will gain access to multi-gigawatt next-generation TPU compute starting in 2027. In other words: Broadcom helped design these TPUs, then lent Anthropic the money to rent them — cash and compute circulating inside the same loop.
What Wall Street is worried about
Critics point directly at "reciprocal spending": the chipmaker supplies the money, and the AI company uses it to rent compute that the same chipmaker helps supply. Robert Leitao of Rothschild & Co told Reuters that this looks like a very large bet — a bet on whether the two companies can earn enough revenue to support financing on this scale. The more direct risk is flagged in the prospectus itself: it warns of a potential conflict of interest, as Broadcom's decisions on pricing and hardware could directly affect Anthropic's ability to procure compute.
What it means for Anthropic's IPO
Viewed in the context of the IPO, the deal takes on a more complicated meaning. Anthropic is targeting a valuation of more than $2 trillion, yet its prospectus discloses 2025 figures of roughly $4.6 billion in revenue and an operating loss of more than $8 billion. The $42 billion credit line plus the "largest customer next year" commitment fills in a "compute is secured" story for the roadshow. But Wall Street's question is equally sharp: when the creditor and the biggest customer are the same company, how much is that "secured" really worth — an answer that will likely have to wait until revenues genuinely catch up.
