The story behind the cartoon
Blackstone, the anchor investor in Anthropic's $63 billion chip financing deal, now expects the AI lab to receive a high "junk" credit rating after its initial public offering, according to a Financial Times report relayed by TechCrunch on October 30. Blackstone told investors in the deal it expects a rating in the double-B range, the top tier of speculative grade. That reverses its earlier forecast that Anthropic would reach investment grade before 2027 rolls around.
The reversal lands days after Anthropic filed to go public, kicking off a wave of speculation about how the massive IPO will affect the broader AI industry. A junk rating would make it harder and more expensive for Anthropic to raise the money funding its enormous compute spending. The company has signed infrastructure deals worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and its bankers have reportedly lobbied the major rating agencies for investment-grade ratings once it lists.
The credit agencies have not all weighed in. Kroll Bond Rating Agency assigned Anthropic's Project North Star junior debt a double-B-plus rating with a positive outlook, and Morningstar DBRS assigned a double-B rating to the same debt, according to people familiar with the matter. Fitch, Moody's and S&P, the three agencies with the most influence over corporate borrowing costs, have not officially issued Anthropic ratings. Anthropic and Blackstone both declined to comment on the report.
The joke takes the forecast literally: the beaming robot in a tuxedo hoists its shiny IPO trophy while its own banker stamps JUNK across its forehead. The trophy stays shiny. The stamp is the whole story — the market's loudest celebration and the credit market's quiet verdict, arriving in the same frame.
ONE LITTLE NO.
THE UPDATE THAT LET STRANGERS IN
CUSTOMER B HAS A NAME
THE ORIGINAL THINKER