TL;DRAlphabet raised $85 billion in the largest equity offering in history, backed by a $10 billion Berkshire Hathaway stake. The proceeds will fund AI infrastructure as the company guides for up to $190 billion in 2026 capex.

The public markets have been asked whether they believe in AI, and they have answered with $85 billion. Alphabet’s record-shattering equity offering, which priced on 2 June, is not just the largest stock sale in tech history. It is the largest equity offering of any kind, in any industry, ever.

The company had initially planned to sell $40 billion in a first tranche of shares and depositary instruments. Demand was so strong that the offering was oversubscribed and upsized to $45 billion, CEO Sundar Pichai said on X. Add a second $40 billion tranche planned for next quarter, and the total comes to roughly $84.75 billion.

Among the buyers: Berkshire Hathaway, not typically associated with AI exuberance, committed $10 billion in a private placement split evenly between Class A and Class C stock.

The numbers behind the number