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AI infrastructure bets drive venture debt toward record levels

Wed, September 9, 2026 at 1:14 PM GMT+3 2 min read

French AI developer Mistral raised one of Europe's largest venture debt deals this year

STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/Getty Images

Venture debt lending in Europe is on track to reach a new record by the end of this year, but capital is flowing into a dwindling pool of recipients.

Europe's venture ecosystem has become increasingly concentrated, and the same trend is taking place in the debt market. Over €21 billion (about $24.4 billion) has been invested over the course of the year, according to PitchBook data, and 2026 is on track for its best annual total on record.

At the current pace, total debt value is projected to reach around 60% higher than last year.

Although deal value is rising fast, deal count is heading in the opposite direction. As it stands, only 237 deals have been completed this year, a pace far below last year's total of 707 transactions. Over 40% of deal value is down to just the five largest deals, two of which are for the same company: Nscale.

Just like the equity market, AI startups are claiming an outsized portion of venture debt. The capital required to build infrastructure would result in significant dilution for investors if sourced through equity, prompting startups to consider alternatives. Furthermore, physical AI infrastructure is financeable collateral, making these companies more attractive to lend to and to lend in larger amounts.

In March this year, French model developer Mistral AI raised $830 million to fund a data centre near Paris, having announced the month prior that it would invest €1.2 billion in developing AI capabilities in Sweden. The startup, which on Tuesday raised €3 billion in a Series D, is planning further infrastructure investment.

AI compute provider Nscale has drawn significant amounts of debt this year across several transactions, including around $3 billion for two US AI campuses. Bloomberg reported that the London-based company is planning to sell $1.5 billion in convertible notes and raise a further $2 billion in financing from Nvidia ahead of an IPO.

While Europe's most promising AI startups are securing loans at an accelerated rate, the venture debt landscape has become challenging for many startups with fewer options. Few new funds have closed in the space either. Among lenders to have raised from LPs are Claret Capital Partners, which secured €575 million for its fourth iteration, and Orbit Capital, which closed its second growth debt fund on €107 million.

This article originally appeared on PitchBook News