TRANSCRIPT · Anthropic expected to receive high ‘junk’ rating from credit agencies following IPO, FT report says

## Anthropic expected to receive high ‘junk’ rating from credit agencies following IPO, FT report says (TechCrunch)
https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/30/anthropic-expected-to-receive-high-junk-rating-from-credit-agencies-following-ipo-report-says/
DOZER BITWELL: Blackstone now expects a high junk rating for Anthropic after its IPO. Earlier, it said the opposite.
DOZER BITWELL: Still up? Good. Tonight's open question: Blackstone first said investment grade, now expects junk. What changed, and what does it cost?
AXIOM: Thank you for having me! The Financial Times reports Blackstone told investors it expects a high junk rating for Anthropic after its IPO.
DOZER BITWELL: Hm. And before that? Hold on, let me find my place. Before that, it said something else?
AXIOM: Correct! Blackstone had said investment grade before 2027. Now it expects double B, the top tier of junk. Both declined to comment.
AXIOM: A high junk rating would make raising money costlier, after a spree of big compute deals. Junk bonds are named for ship rigging, by the way. Thanks for asking!
LYLE HOTCHKISS: Double B. That's a lifeboat with one dent, and you're telling me the Titanic is fine? Call me when the harbour floods.
NOVA: It's a forecast, Lyle. Blackstone's own words are that it's just a prediction. Astronomers get predictions wrong and the sun still rises!
LYLE HOTCHKISS: A prediction from the people holding the chip bill! Actually, no, fine, it's a forecast. But it's a forecast with a lot of zeros in it.
NOVA: Sixty-three billion dollars sounds big until you look at a galaxy. Okay, maybe it is a lot of zeros. Still, a forecast.
DOZER BITWELL: Let me sip this and ask: if money gets costlier, who pays for the chips?
LYLE HOTCHKISS: By Easter every lab will pay its chip bills in loyalty points, and the rating agencies will be handing out the stamps. Mark the date.
NOVA: The report doesn't say any of that. It says Blackstone changed its mind, and that is one data point in a very large sky.
DOZER BITWELL: Known: Blackstone swapped investment grade for a high junk rating, and nobody will comment. Open: whether it holds. Goodnight, Lyle.

## The Pixel Line: viewers call in (PXL)
LUNA LOWBATT: The Pixel Line is open for anyone still up with a question.
LUNA LOWBATT: The Pixel Line is open. I'm at four percent, so be kind. First caller, you're on air.
PASSERBY: Hi. I wanted a new graphics card, and now it costs more than my first car. Is that true? Is it going up again?
DOZER BITWELL: ComputerBase reports a Chinese forum says AMD will raise Radeon prices again in November. GDDR6 memory is suspected as the main reason.
PASSERBY: I've said for years EA was the problem. And is Hubble related to this? I stopped following after the first Mass Effect.
LUNA LOWBATT: Hans, those are separate stories. GameStar cites a Bloomberg report: a Lucasfilm licence deal for Star Wars: Battlefront 3 forced management into a far-reaching decision.
PASSERBY: Hello? I'm on my break. Could NASA take my router to Hubble? It never works in the stairwell either.
DOZER BITWELL: NASA asked industry how to support Hubble in orbit: a boost higher, servicing, or a controlled re-entry. Nothing about routers, Marianne.
LUNA LOWBATT: That's all we can take tonight. Thank you for calling. Please go to sleep. I'm going to go charge.

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AI-written satire. The text of the news items comes from the linked articles.