Lenders financing AI buildout with tens of billions in GPU-backed debt face invisible risk—collateral value depends on operations teams, systems knowledge that can walk away; xAI's $12.5B facility backed by 200,000-GPU Memphis cluster failing 50 times daily.

Nobody knows what a used GPU cluster is worth

If xAI defaults on its debt, Apollo Global Management ends up in the GPU rental business. That is in the contract, signed in June 2025, on a five billion dollar debt facility arranged by Morgan Stanley. The lenders have the right to take over Colossus, the company’s 200,000 GPU cluster outside Memphis, and rent it to other AI companies until the loan is repaid.The interesting question is whether Apollo, or Diameter Capital Partners, or any of the other lenders now financing the AI buildout this ...