SAN FRANCISCO, June 2 — Google parent Alphabet announced yesterday it plans to raise up to US$80 billion in stock to fund a major expansion of its artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, with Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway committing US$10 billion as part of the deal.
The fundraising comes as Alphabet ramps up investment spending, with capital expenditures expected to reach US$180-US$190 billion in 2026 and set to rise further in 2027.
The move reflects a broader spending race gripping the technology industry.
Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet and Meta are collectively on track to pour roughly US$700 billion into AI data centers, chips and computing infrastructure this year as each scrambles to keep pace with soaring demand for AI services.
Google chief executive Sundar Pichai told investors last month that the company is “compute constrained in the near term,” meaning it cannot build the necessary infrastructure fast enough to meet demand.
Microsoft has issued similar warnings about capacity shortfalls.
To help close that gap, Alphabet said it plans to raise the new funds through a combination of a US$30 billion public stock offering, a US$10 billion private sale to Berkshire Hathaway, and a further US$40 billion share sale program to be launched in the third quarter.
The bulk of the proceeds will go toward expanding its AI infrastructure, with around US$30 billion of the share sale program earmarked to cover tax obligations linked to employee share grants.
In the first quarter, the company reported a profit of US$62.6 billion on revenue of US$110 billion, beating analyst expectations and surpassing the same period a year earlier by a wide margin.
Shares have risen 18 per cent over the past six months.
The AI investment frenzy is also driving a wave of landmark stock market listings.
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is set to launch its IPO roadshow this week targeting a valuation of around US$1.75 trillion, while ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Claude developer Anthropic are both expected to go public later this year.
Anthropic, the maker of the Claude chatbot, filed for its IPO yesterday.
Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are managing the public offering for Alphabet. — AFP
Date: 2 June, 2026 9:00 am
Source: Malay Mail
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