Key Points:
- Oracle plans to raise up to $50 billion in 2026. The funds will pay for new cloud infrastructure to support AI.
- Major customers driving demand include OpenAI, Nvidia, and Meta.
- The company will split the fundraising between selling stock and issuing bonds.
- Oracle aims to sell up to $20 billion in equity through a new program.
Oracle is gearing up for a massive financial move next year to keep pace with the exploding demand for artificial intelligence. On Sunday, the software giant announced plans to raise between $45 billion and $50 billion in 2026. The company intends to use this war chest to build out more cloud infrastructure, which is the physical backbone of the internet that powers apps and AI services.
Larry Ellison, the company’s billionaire chairman, is driving this push to satisfy a long line of high-profile customers.
In a statement, Oracle specifically named heavy hitters like OpenAI, Nvidia, Meta, xAI, AMD, and TikTok as the reasons for this expansion. These companies have signed contracts demanding more computing power than ever before. To fulfill these agreements, Oracle needs to construct more data centers and fill them with expensive servers.
Raising this much cash requires a mixed approach. Oracle plans to split the funding roughly down the middle. One-half will come from the stock market. This involves issuing common stock and other securities that can turn into stock later. As part of this, the company is setting up a program to sell up to $20 billion in equity directly to the market.
The other half of the funds will come from borrowing. Oracle plans to issue bonds—essentially IOUs to investors—early in 2026. By balancing debt and equity, the company aims to get the capital it needs without diluting its current shareholders too heavily or taking on unmanageable interest payments.
This announcement highlights the sheer scale of the current AI boom. Building the infrastructure to run tools like ChatGPT requires tens of billions of dollars in hardware and energy. Oracle is placing a huge bet that by expanding its capacity now, it can secure its place as a primary landlord for the biggest tech companies in the world.
