In a Hong Kong hall of financial leaders, Blackstone's president Jon Gray offered a measured bet on the machinery of the age: that the money needed to build artificial intelligence has not yet fully been gathered. He sees the largest technology firms returning to investors for more equity, and a physical buildout of data centers and power that stretches further still. His confidence rests on a demand for computing that, in his view, outruns supply, even as markets have grown uneasy about how much is being spent.
Blackstone's Jon Gray Sees More Tech Equity Raising Ahead as AI Demand Outpaces Supply
Demand is running well ahead of supply
Mark
So what is Gray actually claiming here?
Mimi
That AI's appetite for capital isn't satisfied. He expects most big tech companies to raise more, and he points to Meta, Google and Oracle raising equity, plus SpaceX and Anthropic going public.
Mark
And why does he feel comfortable about it?
Mimi
Demand for computing power, which he calls pretty extraordinary. He says demand is running well ahead of supply.
Luke
Worth noting that's his read, not a measured figure. The report gives no numbers on demand, supply, or how much equity might be raised.
Mark
Does the timing matter?
Mimi
It does. Tech stocks have been selling off globally in recent weeks over worries about AI spending. He's speaking into that nervousness.
Luke
And he's a heavily invested player talking at an investment summit. That doesn't make him wrong, but it's a view from someone with a stake in the theme, though the report doesn't detail Blackstone's exposure.
Mark
Are the offerings he lists confirmed?
Luke
The report attributes them to Gray's remarks. It doesn't lay out terms, dates, or sizes, so I'd treat them as his summary of the landscape.
Mimi
What's concrete is the direction of his argument: more raising ahead, plus big data center and energy needs on top.
Mark
So what do we watch?
Mimi
Whether the spending boom holds as the selloffs continue, and whether the raises actually arrive.
O Pulso
- Tech stocks are sliding worldwide as fresh doubts about AI spending ripple through markets.
- Jon Gray told a Hong Kong audience that Meta, Google and Oracle will need to raise more equity capital.
- Data center and energy requirements are described as enormous, pulling the capital question beyond the tech giants themselves.
- Gray argues computing demand is running well ahead of supply, a view that sits against the prevailing investor mood.
- The outcome hinges on whether the AI spending boom holds and whether the anticipated equity raises materialize at the scale he suggests.
In a Hong Kong hall of financial leaders, Blackstone's president Jon Gray offered a measured bet on the machinery of the age: that the money needed to build artificial intelligence has not yet fully been gathered. He sees the largest technology firms returning to investors for more equity, and a physical buildout of data centers and power that stretches further still. His confidence rests on a demand for computing that, in his view, outruns supply, even as markets have grown uneasy about how much is being spent.
Jon Gray, president of Blackstone, spoke on Tuesday at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit with a message that cut against the current mood. The money the AI industry needs, he said, has not all been raised yet, and more global equity fundraising will be required to keep up with demand.
Gray expects most of the major technology companies to return to investors. He named Meta, Google and Oracle as raising equity, and mentioned SpaceX and Anthropic going public. He offered these as his read of the landscape from the stage; the reporting does not specify sizes or timing.
He also pointed to the physical side of the buildout, describing data centers and energy needs as enormous, and extending well beyond what the companies themselves are raising. His conviction, he said, comes from what he called extraordinary demand for computing power, which he sees running well ahead of supply.
The timing is awkward. Tech stocks have been under pressure in recent weeks as worries about AI spending triggered new selloffs. Gray's view is that where some investors question the spending, he sees a capacity shortage and a continuing need for capital. Blackstone, one of the largest alternative asset managers, has an obvious stake, though the report does not detail its specific holdings. The story was reported from Hong Kong by Kane Wu for Reuters. What comes next is whether the spending boom holds and whether the raises Gray anticipates arrive at the scale he describes.
Jon Gray, president of Blackstone, stood before an audience in Hong Kong on Tuesday and told them the money the AI industry needs is not yet all raised. Speaking at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit, he said more global equity fundraising will be required to keep pace with the demand expected from AI's growth.
Gray said most of the major technology companies are expected to go back to investors for more capital. He named names. Meta, Google and Oracle, he said, are raising equity. SpaceX is going public, and so is Anthropic. Those were his characterizations of the landscape, offered from the stage, and the reporting does not detail the size or timing of any of those offerings.
On top of the corporate fundraising, Gray pointed to the physical requirements of the buildout. The data centers and the energy needs, he said, are enormous. In his telling, the capital demands of AI go beyond what the companies themselves are raising and extend into the infrastructure that has to be built to support them.
He was open about where he stands. Gray said he has a tremendous amount of conviction and confidence in AI infrastructure, and he rooted that in what he called pretty extraordinary demand for computing power. The key comparison, as he framed it, is between demand and supply. He described an environment in which demand is running well ahead of supply, and said that gives him a lot of comfort.
The remarks arrived at an awkward moment for the sector. Tech stocks globally have been under pressure in recent weeks, as growing concerns about AI spending have set off a new wave of selloffs. Gray's argument, then, runs against some of the recent mood in markets: where some investors have been questioning how much is being spent, he sees a shortage of capacity and a continuing need for capital.
Blackstone, one of the world's largest alternative asset managers, has a direct interest in how this plays out, though the source does not spell out the firm's specific holdings or deals in the sector. What the report offers is a view from the top of a major investment house, delivered to an audience of financial leaders in Asia.
The story was reported from Hong Kong by Kane Wu, who covers deals, fundraising and investment banking across Asia for Reuters. What to watch next is whether the spending boom holds up as global tech stocks face fresh selloffs, and whether the equity raises Gray anticipates actually materialize on the scale he suggests.
Citações Notáveis
Demand is running well ahead of supply, so that gives him a lot of comfort.— Jon Gray, Blackstone President
The data centers and energy needs are enormous.— Jon Gray, Blackstone President
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