Nvidia-backed Zankore reportedly launches $3.1B loan for GPU purchases
Bloomberg reported on October 28 that Zankore, an Indonesian AI infrastructure platform backed by Nvidia, is offering a $3.1 billion loan to the wider market to buy graphics processing units for its new AI factory. The report cited people familiar with the matter. The facility itself is not new. Zankore said on September 9 that it had signed a senior term loan of up to $3.1 billion, and it named Citigroup, ING, Natixis, Qatar National Bank and United Overseas Bank as underwriters, with Citigroup as sole debt adviser. Those names come from Zankore's own statement as relayed by trade press, so the status of the current syndication should be read with care.
The first phase covers an initial 100 MW, with about 200 MW planned for the first half of 2027 and a longer goal of 1 GW of Nvidia DSX AI Factory capacity. Shareholders include Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Ooredoo Group, Nokia and Nvidia. Bloomberg reporting, carried by TradingView, says Nvidia attached a revenue-sharing and credit-support arrangement to make the debt easier for banks to accept. Chairman Vikram Sinha said Nvidia is "helping us to make it financeable." The platform plans to offer GPU capacity as a service to AI-native companies, enterprises and startups.
Pricing, interest margin, tenor and the final lender group are not disclosed in the reports reviewed. Syndication means the arrangers sell portions of the loan to banks and funds outside the initial group, which spreads the exposure.
Why it matters
For founders raising compute debt, the deal is a reference point for a GPU-backed term loan in Southeast Asia, sized at $3.1 billion and paired with a chip vendor's credit support. Lenders have been cautious about hardware because the resale value of chips is hard to predict, so a structure that moves part of that risk to the vendor is what gets deals done. Operators should also note that the revenue-sharing terms tie how fast capacity is built to customer demand.
For GPU sellers and neocloud operators, the model shows how a vendor can help clear large orders outside the biggest US cloud buyers. For investors, the number to watch is the margin at which syndication clears, because that sets the cost of financing hardware that loses value over time.
Key points
- 1Zankore announced on September 9 a senior term loan facility of up to $3.1 billion.
- 2Citigroup, ING, Natixis, Qatar National Bank and UOB underwrote the facility, with Citigroup as sole debt adviser.
- 3The first phase covers 100 MW, with about 200 MW targeted for the first half of 2027.
- 4Nvidia attached a revenue-sharing and credit-support arrangement to the deal, according to Bloomberg reporting.
- 5Pricing, margin, tenor and the final lender allocations were not disclosed in the reports reviewed.
