Blackstone’s Jon Gray Calls for More Equity in AI Infrastructure

Blackstone President and Chief Operating Officer Jon Gray said AI infrastructure projects need a larger share of equity funding as lenders face growing concentration risk from financing companies building out computing capacity.

Gray spoke with PIMCO CEO Emmanuel Roman at a Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) summit session scheduled to begin Nov. 2 at 8:25 p.m. ET (Nov. 3 at 01:25 UTC). Morgan Stanley Asia CEO Gokul Laroia moderated the panel.

Roman cited General Atlantic CEO Bill Ford’s estimate that AI-related capital spending could reach about $10 trillion over the next five years. Roman also said about $550 billion in AI-related debt had been issued in various forms so far in 2026.

Gray said lenders receive interest and repayment of principal, but do not share in a company’s growth. Shareholders can benefit as a company expands, giving them a stake in potential gains that lenders do not receive. Gray said exposure is becoming concentrated across the AI sector and among individual companies, making more equity financing necessary for the buildout.

He said funding would need to come from public markets, banks and private capital. Large cloud companies can also use cash they generate to pay for some of the spending. Gray pointed to structured deals as another way companies can limit how much they borrow.

Roman said the financing requirement would remain substantial even if companies combine debt with equity. He compared the scale with a global corporate bond market of about $20 trillion and warned that AI financing could eventually become excessive.

Gray also reiterated that computing needs remain ahead of available capacity, a view he has discussed in earlier comments on AI supply. He said Blackstone portfolio companies’ spending on AI models grew 20-fold over the past year. At the same time, he said, securing sites, permits, chips, power and financing has become more difficult.