Rafay Expands Elevate AI Infrastructure Ecosystem Amid Shift to Token Factory Monetization

Nvidia has held talks with insurance companies about shifting part of the financing risk tied to its chips as the chipmaker seeks to expand demand beyond major technology companies, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The discussions include potential insurance for loans extended to smaller "neocloud" companies, which could protect lenders if a borrower defaults and Nvidia chips pledged as collateral cannot be resold for enough to cover the debt, the FT reported, citing people familiar with the talks. The discussions are at an early stage and may not result in any deals. The move is part of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's broader push to make chips and AI infrastructure easier for outside investors to finance, with Huang arguing that chips should be viewed as an "investable asset class" similar to other expensive, long-lived technology assets. Nvidia has shared data on chip depreciation and the expected future value of computing power with at least one insurer, and is also working with broker Howden Re on a structure involving insurers, while exploring the use of insurance groups to syndicate risk to hedge funds and other alternative investors, with the potential size of deals possibly exceeding the balance sheets of even large insurers. The insurance push comes after Nvidia offered to backstop part of financing deals designed to unlock $500 billion of capital from Wall Street firms including Goldman Sachs and Apollo, and after the company separately announced a record $150 billion share buyback on Monday.