South China Morning Post
· collected 2026-09-07 · by James David Spellman
James David Spellman, principal of Strategic Communications LLC, warns that "circular deals" among AI titans may resemble the failed "daisy chains" of the 1980s savings-and-loan crisis. OpenAI has made several high-profile deals with companies like Nvidia and Lambda, totaling over $35 billion, while Nvidia is involved in over $750 billion worth of AI investments and partnerships. The total debt of the five largest hyperscalers exceeds $1.65 trillion through special purpose vehicles and other off-balance-sheet structures. This complex web of financial commitments raises concerns about the risks of systemic collapse if revenue fails to keep pace with costs or a black swan event disrupts the AI industry.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
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Story summary
OpenAI and its competitors, including Anthropic and xAI, have formed complex financial agreements with companies like Nvidia and CoreWeave. These deals involve long-term commitments for financing, buying semiconductors, securing power, and leasing data centers. The agreements are raising concerns that they resemble the "daisy chains" of the 1980s savings-and-loan crisis, where interconnected transactions hid underlying problems and ultimately led to widespread bank failures. OpenAI is planning an initial public offering for next year, while its competitors have also secured similar deals. Anthropic has recently signed a $35 billion cloud-computing deal with Lambda and a $45 billion arrangement with Nscale to rent data-center capacity. If revenue fails to keep pace with costs or a "black swan event" disrupts the AI industry, these agreements could lead to similar systemic risks.
Written for “AI Industry Antitrust Scandal” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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Leaning score -0.35 for article 6814 (high confidence, 2 verified quotes) · logged 2026-09-07
James David Spellman, a graduate of Oxford University, is principal of Strategic Communications LLC, a consulting firm based in Washington, DC.
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Spellman → consult → Washington
The “circular deals” among AI titans increasingly resemble the “daisy chains” of the 1980s savings-and-loan crisis.
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deals → resemble → crisis
Forty years ago, interconnected transactions obscured the dangers, multiplied systemic risks and helped inflate asset values before roughly a third of US thrift banks failed.
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third → obscure → banks
Today’s financial engineering – an incestuous ecosystem of interlocking multi-year commitments to provide financing, buy semiconductors, secure gigawatts of power and lease data centres – could meet a similar fate, especially if revenue fails to outpace costs or a black swan event eviscerates artificial intelligence (AI) trajectories.
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event → interlock → trajectories
OpenAI has struck deals with Nvidia, CoreWeave and others ahead of an initial public offering planned for next year while competitors Anthropic and xAI have pursued similar agreements.
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Anthropic → strike → agreements
Last month, the AI developer signed a US$45 billion arrangement with another Nvidia-backed neocloud, Nscale, to rent data-centre capacity.
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developer → sign → capacity
Nvidia is involved in more than US$750 billion worth of AI investments, financing deals and partnerships, according to PitchBook.
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Nvidia → involve → PitchBook
Demand from AI labs receiving Nvidia financial support will account for roughly a quarter of the company’s business next year, CFO Colette Kress said.
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Kress → receive → business
The rash of AI investments is unprecedented in scale – 4.5 times the level three years ago, according to Bank for International Settlements data.
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rash → accord → data
This raises a question: how much of the industry’s extraordinary growth is being financed by the same companies benefiting from it?
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much → raise → it
Meanwhile, hidden risks are colliding with a borrowing binge well under way.
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risks → collide → way
The five largest hyperscalers carry roughly US$1.65 trillion in debt through special purpose vehicles and other off-balance-sheet structures, exceeding the US$1.35 trillion they report directly, according to Nikkei.
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they → carry → Nikkei
