Initially launched at around $20bn, Alphabet's bond offering was expanded in response to market appetite, according to sources close to the matter. On Tuesday morning, the group turned to European markets to raise the equivalent of about $11bn in sterling and Swiss francs. Bloomberg reported that the total now stood at close to $32bn. The sources said demand was particularly strong for high-quality debt issued by the big tech players.

The deal comes against a backdrop of sharply rising capital expenditure across the sector. Alphabet said last week it expects up to $185bn of investment in 2026, more than double its 2025 level, to expand its artificial intelligence capacity. The main hyperscalers, including Amazon, Meta and Microsoft, are expected to invest nearly $700bn this year, fuelling concerns about increased pressure on free cash flows.

Oracle recently paved the way with a $25bn bond offering, while Meta is said to be preparing a similar deal in the first half of the year to finance its data centres. Alphabet had already raised $25bn in November, taking its long-term debt to $46.5bn in 2025. Its chief financial officer, Anat Ashkenazi, reaffirmed the group's intention to fund its investments in a budget-responsible manner while maintaining a strong financial position.