As demand for GPUs outpaces supply, AI companies are financing hardware through debt, leasing, and vendor-backed equity. Elon Musk's xAI and OpenAI are at the center of billion-dollar deals that blur the line between chip vendor and capital provider.

A growing body of forecasts from AMD, Nvidia, Broadcom, and major research firms now points toward a semiconductor market that passes the trillion-dollar threshold before the decade closes.