Pimco's chief warns AI's $10 trillion bill will be ‘too much’

At Hong Kong's Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit on Tuesday, Pimco CEO Emmanuel Roman warned AI-related capital spending could reach about $10 trillion over five years — approaching the roughly $20 trillion global corporate bond market.

Roman said about $550 billion in AI debt had already been issued in 2026, and concluded that at some point the financing ‘will become too much’ — with a rate rise, a Middle East war, or a eurozone crisis each capable of setting off a downturn.

Blackstone president Jon Gray, on the same panel, argued the boom needs more equity, not just lending: lenders can pile up too much exposure to one industry while shareholders keep the upside.