Alphabet sold ?576.5 billion ($3.6 billion) of bonds in the biggest ever yen deal by a non-Japanese company as competition to fund centers and AI infrastructure intensifies.

The debut yen bond by the parent of Google includes ?200.5 billion of five-year bonds at 50 basis points over mid-swaps, according to people familiar with the matter. There were six other tranches.

The latest bond sale is part of a series of bond sales that raise close to $60 billion for the internet giant, a four-month run that ranks as one of the greatest corporate borrowing binges ever. It¡¯s another sign that large global corporates are increasingly looking at the yen bond market as AI-driven capital spending accelerates. Yen bond sales by non-Japanese issuers have risen over 280% to ?1.6 trillion this year.

¡°While U.S. investors are showing signs of fatigue, Japanese investors remain yield-hungry and are willing to snap up paper from big-name issuers such as Alphabet,¡± said Taketoshi Tsuchiya, president of Fujiwara Capital.

Hyperscalers have been issuing a large amount of dollar debt to fund data capital-intensive centers, and investors are likely already tapped out, he said.

Alphabet has actively tapped overseas bond markets. Earlier this month, the firm sold its biggest-ever euro-denominated bonds and its debut Canadian dollar notes, raising almost $17 billion. Before that, it sold sterling and Swiss franc-denominated notes, its inaugural offerings in those currencies, alongside a U.S. dollar debt issue.?

Debut issues typically offer wider spreads, a pattern that the yen bond sale fits, said Shunsuke Oshida, managing director at Manulife Investment Management (Japan) Ltd. ¡°For overseas issuers without Japan as a core market, paying a certain premium on a debut offering may whet investor demand for subsequent deals,¡±?he said.

The deal also underscores investor demand for the extra yield that¡¯s available on corporate notes, especially as Japanese government bonds have seen unprecedented volatility due to the Bank of Japan¡¯s withdrawal from decades of ultra-easy policy.

The 10-year tranche of the Alphabet?issue has a coupon of 3.189%, considerably higher than the 2.71% yield for the sovereign bond of the same tenor.

Alphabet¡¯s bumper bond may also embolden other global companies to tap the yen market. Berkshire Hathaway, which last tapped the yen debt market in April, has been a regular seller since its first yen bond sale in 2019.

The fundraising may also fuel expectations that Alphabet may deepen its presence in Japan. Alphabet recently raised its capital expenditure outlook to as much as $190 billion, up from a prior estimate of $185 billion and roughly double its 2025 spending.