{"slug": "five-us-tech-giants-hidden-debts-soar-to-1-65t-on-opaque-ai-funding", "title": "Five US tech giants' hidden debts soar to $1.65T on opaque AI funding", "summary": "Hidden debt at five major U.S. tech companies — Meta, Oracle, and others — surged eightfold to an estimated $1.65 trillion over roughly four years as AI investments ballooned, a Nikkei study shows, surpassing their transparent debt and complicating risk assessment for investors. Meta's off-balance-sheet debt alone stands at about $420 billion, nearly triple its reported debt.", "body_md": "[Technology](/business/technology)# Five US tech giants' hidden debts soar to $1.65tn on opaque AI funding\n\nData center leases, GPU supply contracts raise liabilities at Meta, Oracle, Nikkei study shows\n\nA Meta data center in the state of Georgia. The company's off-balance-sheet debt is about $420 billion, nearly triple its transparent debt. © AP\n\nPALO ALTO, California -- Hidden debt at U.S. tech giants swelled eightfold in roughly four years to an estimated $1.65 trillion as artificial intelligence investments ballooned, a Nikkei study shows, exceeding actual debt and making it tougher for investors to assess risk.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/five-us-tech-giants-hidden-debts-soar-to-1-65t-on-opaque-ai-funding", "canonical_source": "https://asia.nikkei.com/business/technology/five-us-tech-giants-hidden-debts-soar-to-1.65tn-on-opaque-ai-funding", "published_at": "2026-07-21 03:56:03+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-07-21 04:24:22.058767+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Meta", "Oracle", "Nikkei"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/five-us-tech-giants-hidden-debts-soar-to-1-65t-on-opaque-ai-funding", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/five-us-tech-giants-hidden-debts-soar-to-1-65t-on-opaque-ai-funding.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/five-us-tech-giants-hidden-debts-soar-to-1-65t-on-opaque-ai-funding.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/five-us-tech-giants-hidden-debts-soar-to-1-65t-on-opaque-ai-funding.jsonld"}}