Bloomberg maps circular financing fueling AI boom, and crypto investors should pay attention

Bloomberg just published an interactive guide dissecting the tangled web of investments propping up the AI industry. The core finding: chip manufacturers, cloud providers, and AI developers are locked in a sprawling network of circular deals where investors fund companies that are contractually obligated to buy products from those same investors. The money-go-round Nvidia reportedly agreed to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, with OpenAI committing to purchase millions of Nvidia chips in return. Microsoft has poured over $13 billion into OpenAI, including a $10 billion infusion in early 2023, paired with a $250 billion purchase agreement for cloud services. Nvidia also took a 7% stake in CoreWeave, agreeing to buy $6.3 billion in cloud services from the company. OpenAI has also committed to purchasing billions in AMD chips, positioning itself as a major shareholder in that company’s AI ambitions. Nvidia is now reportedly advancing potential deals worth over $750 billion, a figure that only amplifies concerns about how sustainable this financial architecture really is. Why the telecom comparison matters Bloomberg’s analysis builds on its earlier reporting from October 2025, which...