AI TRENDS | AI Funding Race Reaches Japan as Yen Bond Issuance Sets $16 Billion Record

According to Jin10, overseas companies and institutions are seeking funding from Japanese investors amid a global financing boom led by AI hyperscale cloud providers. Daiwa Securities data show that yen bond issuance by foreign entities reached a record about 2.5 trillion yen ($15.9 billion) from April through September this year, up 160% year over year and surpassing the previous record of 2.1 trillion yen set from October 2018 to March 2019. Alphabet, Google's parent company, issued yen bonds for the first time in May, raising 576.5 billion yen, a record for the company; it is expected to use the funds for large-scale AI infrastructure investment. A source at a large brokerage said most overseas issuers exchange yen bond proceeds into currencies such as the U.S. dollar and euro.