Anthropic receives first credit rating of BB+, the highest "junk" grade

October 17 – According to the Financial Times, rating agency KBRA granted Anthropic a BB+ issuer rating in June this year, the highest speculative-grade (junk) rating, just one notch below investment grade, with a stable outlook. The rating applies to roughly $4.4 billion of subordinated debt within a $35 billion chip financing package, issued at a yield of about 8.5%, while the senior debt carries a 5.75% interest rate. Because Anthropic's disclosures are limited, KBRA did not receive metrics such as free cash flow and EBITDA, and instead used a "risk score" in place of a full financial model assessment. As of the end of June, the five-year-old company had zero debt on its own balance sheet. Wall Street is preparing a $60 billion new debt package (including $18 billion in subordinated debt) to acquire custom AI chips jointly developed by Google and Broadcom. Moody's, S&P and Fitch will ultimately determine its official rating after its listing.