# Intel, Broadcom CEOs Identify Capital Access as AI Bottleneck

By Simon Yoon

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/technology/30130
Published: 2026-10-12T08:36:37.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-12T08:36:37.000Z
Section: Technology

> Hock Tan and Lip-Bu Tan said financing costs and pressure to prove returns could constrain AI infrastructure expansion even as demand remains strong.

Access to capital may become a larger constraint on artificial intelligence infrastructure growth than chip, memory or power shortages, the CEOs of Broadcom and Intel said Monday.

Broadcom CEO Hock Tan said at the DBS Asia Future Forward Conference in Singapore that capital could emerge as the industry’s biggest limitation. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan also pointed to financing costs and the need for companies to show that major AI investments are producing measurable returns.

“If there’s any challenge in the front, it’s capital and the cost of capital, and then the other part is in the longer run, people want to see the ROI,” Lip-Bu Tan said.

The comments come as companies build data centers, advanced semiconductors and power infrastructure to expand computing capacity. More expensive financing could weigh on projects whose returns may take years to develop.

Hock Tan said supply bottlenecks have shifted repeatedly during the past two years and may ease as production capacity increases. Memory shortages could look different a year from now, while wafer constraints might improve by 2028 or 2029. Power availability could also improve as new infrastructure comes online.

Demand, however, remains above available capacity. “There is more demand for compute infrastructure than we can supply,” Hock Tan said, adding that the imbalance could continue through 2029 and potentially into 2030.

Lip-Bu Tan said demand for AI infrastructure is unlikely to slow significantly over the next two to three years as companies adopt more AI applications and seek additional computing power.

Longer-term growth will depend on adoption and whether AI produces meaningful economic benefits. Hock Tan said demand could weaken if adoption of advanced models disappoints or improvements in model capabilities begin to level off.

Lip-Bu Tan said companies will increasingly need to demonstrate tangible returns through higher efficiency and new business models.