Alphabet Unveils $80 Billion Capital Raise to Accelerate AI Expansion, Secures $10 Billion Backing from Berkshire Hathaway

Alphabet Inc. has announced an ambitious $80 billion equity fundraising plan aimed at supporting the rapidly growing costs of artificial intelligence infrastructure and expanding its computing capacity. The move highlights the intense competition among technology giants to dominate the AI sector and meet surging demand for advanced AI services.

A major vote of confidence came from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., which agreed to invest $10 billion through a private placement. Berkshire’s investment includes $5 billion in Alphabet Class A shares priced at $351.81 per share and $5 billion in Class C shares priced at $348.20. Berkshire began building its stake in Alphabet during the third quarter of 2025.

The fundraising strategy includes a $30 billion underwritten public offering consisting of mandatory convertible preferred stock, Class A common stock, and Class C capital stock. In addition, Alphabet plans to launch a $40 billion at-the-market (ATM) offering during the third quarter of 2026.

According to Alphabet, demand for its AI products and services from businesses and consumers continues to exceed the company’s available computing resources. To address this imbalance, the company expects capital expenditures to reach between $180 billion and $190 billion in 2026, with spending projected to increase further in 2027.

The company’s strong financial performance continues to support its growth ambitions. Google Cloud revenue surged 63% year-over-year in the first quarter, while its cloud backlog nearly doubled from the previous quarter to more than $460 billion. Monthly developers using Google AI models now exceed 8.5 million, and first-party API token processing has increased sixfold over the past year.

Alphabet generated approximately $174 billion in operating cash flow over the last 12 months despite carrying debt exceeding $100 billion. The company stated that the equity offering will help fund AI expansion while preserving balance sheet strength.

A significant portion of the ATM offering will also support employee equity-related tax obligations. Alphabet expects roughly $30 billion of the proceeds to be used in 2026 as part of a transition to a sell-to-cover model for employee stock awards.

Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Securities, and Morgan Stanley are serving as joint book-running managers for the public offerings.