Meanwhile, SpaceX's $75 billion IPO is scheduled to list on Nasdaq on June 12, while both Anthropic and OpenAI have secretly filed S-1 registration statements. AI-related equity financing could surpass $400 billion in 2026—nine times the size of last year’s IPO market.

Alphabet has dropped a bombshell into capital markets.

According to SEC filings and Bloomberg reports, Alphabet completed the pricing of a total $84.75 billion equity financing on June 2—the largest single equity issuance in global history, exceeding Petrobras’ previous record of $70 billion set in 2010 by over $14 billion. CEO Sundar Pichai announced on X that the initial offering expanded from $40 billion to approximately $45 billion due to oversubscription. Following the announcement, Alphabet’s stock price declined by about 4%.

The destination of this capital is clear: AI infrastructure. Pichai described it as “part of a multi-year investment strategy to capture the opportunities presented by AI.” Alphabet has raised its 2026 capital expenditure guidance to between $180 billion and $190 billion—nearly double the full-year 2025 figure of $91.4 billion.

How $84.75 Billion Was Raised: A Four-Tier Structural Breakdown

This financing was not a simple public equity issuance but a composite structure composed of four components.

According to the FWP filing submitted to the SEC, the structure consists of: $18 billion in underwritten offerings of Class A common shares and Class C capital stock (expanded from an original $15 billion); $16.75 billion in mandatory convertible preferred share depositary receipts (expanded from $15 billion), carrying a fixed 6.25% dividend rate; $40 billion in at-the-market (ATM) issuance plans, to be gradually sold into the market starting in Q3; and a $10 billion directed private placement from Berkshire Hathaway.

The underwriting portion priced at $355.20 per Class A share and $351.80 per Class C share. The common stock and depositary receipt issuances were completed on June 4 and June 5, respectively.

With Alphabet’s total market cap hovering around $4.2 trillion, this financing represents less than 2% of its valuation. According to Seeking Alpha analysis, considering the issuance structure and employee option tax obligations, the actual dilution effect may be lower than the book figures suggest.

Berkshire’s $10 Billion Commitment: Value Investors Cast a Vote of Confidence in AI Infrastructure

Berkshire Hathaway’s $10 billion directed subscription is the most scrutinized transaction in this round of financing.

According to SEC filings, Berkshire purchased equal amounts of Class A and Class C shares at approximately a 6.5% discount. Known for its value investing philosophy, Berkshire has long been regarded as a conservative player in tech investing. Yet from heavy bets on Apple to direct participation in AI infrastructure financing today, Berkshire’s move signals a pivotal shift: even the most cautious institutional capital now views AI infrastructure as a bet-worthy asset class.

According to TechCrunch, Pichai specifically highlighted Berkshire’s involvement on X, emphasizing its “longstanding commitment to value investing,” which aligns with Alphabet’s own investment logic.

Google’s Confidence: Q1 Revenue of $110 Billion, Cloud Backlog Surpasses $460 Billion

Alphabet’s ability to issue an $85 billion financing check rests on a solid foundation of hard data.

In Q1 2026, Alphabet’s total revenue reached $110 billion, up 22% year-over-year. Google Cloud generated $20 billion in revenue, up 63%, while contracted backlog nearly doubled from the prior quarter to exceed $460 billion—about 50% expected to be recognized as revenue within the next 24 months. Revenue from Google Search and other businesses rose 19% to $60.4 billion, and Google paid subscribers reached 350 million. According to Prof G Media, Gemini’s monthly active users are approaching 900 million.

Pichai stated directly during the Q1 earnings call: “We are constrained in the short term by compute supply.” CFO Anat Ashkenazi added that capital expenditures in 2027 are expected to “increase significantly again.” In other words, the $180–190 billion annual capital expenditure is merely the starting point.

Ruth Porat, Alphabet’s President and Chief Investment Officer, played a pivotal role in this financing round. Prof G Markets host Scott Galoway remarked that Alphabet could have funded this investment entirely from its balance sheet cash, but Porat chose a smarter path: leveraging low-cost external capital while securing investor allocations ahead of Anthropic and OpenAI’s upcoming IPOs. “Every resource is finite—including investors’ appetite for AI infrastructure. Google just took $85 billion off the table,” Galoway wrote.

The AI Financing Super Cycle: SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI Queueing for Public Listings

Alphabet’s secondary offering is not an isolated event but the opening act of a 2026 AI capital markets super cycle.

SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 prospectus on May 20, planning to issue 556.6 million shares at $135 per share, raising $75 billion and valuing the company at approximately $1.75 trillion. According to Bloomberg, the company expects pricing on June 11 and a formal Nasdaq listing on June 12 under the ticker “SPCX.” Roadshow activities began on June 4 and received strong oversubscription. If completed, this would become the largest IPO in global history.

Anthropic filed its confidential S-1 draft with the SEC on June 1. Just days earlier, on May 28, the company completed a $65 billion Series H round, post-money valuation of $965 billion—surpassing OpenAI’s $852 billion and making Anthropic the highest-valued AI firm in Silicon Valley. Multiple media outlets report that Anthropic’s IPO target window is around October 2026, with a first-day valuation exceeding $1 trillion considered a baseline expectation.

OpenAI is not lagging behind. According to CNBC’s report on May 20, OpenAI is preparing to file a confidential IPO draft, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley serving as lead underwriters. The target valuation exceeds $1 trillion, with a potential listing window between September and November 2026.

The $40 Billion Financing Surge: Can the Market Absorb It?

When aggregated, the scale of capital raising underway in 2026 is unprecedented.

According to Galoway’s calculations, the highest-ever annual IPO fundraising occurred in 2021, totaling around $140 billion. Simply combining Alphabet’s secondary offering with the IPOs of SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI already far exceeds that record. When factoring in other AI-related listings like Cerebras and the entire 2026 financing pipeline, total equity issuance could surpass $400 billion—approximately nine times the size of last year’s IPO market.

Galoway offered a sobering historical insight: among the past 30 major IPOs, the average maximum drawdown within one year of listing was 55%. “The IPO moment is the peak of hype, the peak of demand. You’re competing globally with every fund manager for shares everyone wants,” he wrote. “A smarter approach is often waiting for the hype to fade, finding entry points when fear outweighs greed.”

For investors, Galoway provided a concise framework: if you want exposure to AI but are uncertain whether Anthropic or OpenAI deserves their current valuations, buy Google. It is already one of history’s greatest businesses, with a relatively reasonable valuation, offering upside potential while bearing far less risk than pure-play AI firms. If AI ultimately disappoints, Alphabet will endure—but the others may not.

Author: Claude, DeepTide TechFlow