A potential $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure partnership involving Nvidia and major investment firms highlighted another day of aggressive spending on AI, while Bitcoin fell below $64,500 as geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz weighed on risk assets.
According to reports by Bloomberg and the Financial Times, Nvidia is in advanced talks with Apollo Global Management, Blackstone, BlackRock, Brookfield Asset Management, Goldman Sachs, and KKR to fund an AI buildout that could eventually reach $500 billion. The collaboration would focus on expanding computer capacity, electricity provision, and constructing data centers to support the growing demands of artificial intelligence. The deal could be unveiled as early as next Monday. However, Nvidia shares fell about 2%, shedding over $70 billion in market value, as investors assessed the scale of the commitment.
The discussions come as Nvidia increasingly steps beyond chip supply and into financing the physical infrastructure behind AI. The company, valued at approximately $5.25 trillion, has already been involved in talks to support up to $250 billion in financing for OpenAI’s data center project in Ohio and as much as $350 billion of OpenAI’s chip purchases. During the first half of 2026 alone, Nvidia invested more than $40 billion in AI-related ventures, including deals with OpenAI, Corning, and IREN.
Billionaire investor Mark Cuban has raised concerns about the debt and financial engineering underpinning the AI boom, comparing the current environment to the dot-com era. “Instead of IPOs, Nvidia is the IPO, funding everyone and anyone,” he wrote recently. The financing structures can involve revenue-sharing agreements, lease guarantees, and special-purpose vehicles that may use GPUs as collateral. Legal experts note that such projects often combine private lending, securitization, and SPVs, exposing lenders to risks if hardware values depreciate faster than expected or AI demand fails to meet projections.
In a separate development, Intel announced a $15 billion common stock offering — its first since the 1971 listing — to strengthen its balance sheet and fund AI and custom silicon initiatives. Intel shares dropped as much as 5.3% on the dilutive effect. Proceeds will go toward general corporate purposes, including artificial intelligence investments.
Gold prices hovered near a seven-week high at $4,382.42 an ounce, supported by Chinese central bank buying and anticipation of U.S. inflation data this week. Economists forecast a slight easing in year-over-year consumer price growth to 3.4% in July, which could influence the Federal Reserve’s rate path. Traders currently see a 50% probability of a September hike, per CME FedWatch.
In cryptocurrency markets, Bitcoin slid to $63,752.57 on Monday, its lowest since Friday, as hopes for a near-term reopening of the Strait of Hormuz faded. The decline mirrored weakness in U.S. equities. Despite the price dip, on-chain metrics showed resilient institutional demand: U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted net inflows of $865.3 million last week, and hedge funds turned net long on CME Bitcoin futures — a move CryptoQuant’s CEO described as “rare.” Glassnode noted that the recovery “remains tentative” amid subdued centralized exchange trading activity.
