Alphabet Bets on a Century: Google’s Parent Plans Ultra-Rare 100-Year Bond in Historic Tech Debt Move

Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, is preparing to make bond market history — not with flashy gadgets or software, but with time itself.

In a move almost unheard of in Silicon Valley, Alphabet plans to sell a 100-year bond, effectively borrowing money that won’t need to be repaid until the next century. If completed, it would mark the first century bond issued by a technology company since 1997, when Motorola last dared to think that far ahead.

According to people familiar with the deal, Alphabet’s ultra-long bond will be denominated in British pounds (sterling) and sold as part of a five-tranche sterling offering — the company’s first-ever foray into the UK bond market. Pricing could come as soon as tomorrow.

Century bonds are usually the domain of governments, universities, and charitable institutions, not fast-moving tech giants vulnerable to disruption. For corporates, the risks are obvious: business models change, technology becomes obsolete, and companies disappear long before 100 years pass.

That’s exactly why Alphabet’s plan stands out.

The last time a tech company issued such debt, Bill Clinton was US president, the iPhone didn’t exist, and Google itself was still a startup in a garage.

The answer lies in the artificial intelligence arms race.

Alphabet recently stunned investors by announcing that its capital expenditures could hit $185 billion this year, double last year’s spending, as it races to build data centers, AI chips, and cloud infrastructure to compete with Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon.

To fund that ambition, Alphabet is tapping every corner of global debt markets — from US dollars to euros, Swiss francs, and now sterling — and from short-term notes to bonds that stretch into the 22nd century.

“They want to tap every kind of investor possible,” said Gordon Kerr, European macro strategist at KBRA. “From structured finance investors to super long-dated investors.”

The likely buyers aren’t hedge funds chasing quick gains. Instead, UK pension funds and insurance companies — institutions with liabilities stretching decades into the future — are expected to anchor demand.

Sterling markets, in particular, have become a sweet spot for issuers seeking ultra-long funding, thanks to strong appetite from these investors.

Even so, the club of sterling century-bond issuers is tiny. Before Alphabet, only Electricité de France, the University of Oxford, and the Wellcome Trust had ever issued 100-year bonds in the currency — all in 2021, when interest rates were at historic lows.

Those bonds now trade well below face value, highlighting the brutal reality of ultra-long debt: small moves in interest rates can cause massive price swings. The Wellcome Trust’s bond, for example, is indicated at just 44.6 pence on the pound.

Century bonds come with a warning label.

Retailer J.C. Penney issued a 100-year bond in the 1990s — and filed for bankruptcy just 23 years later. Investors were left holding paper meant to last a lifetime, issued by a company that didn’t.

Alphabet, of course, is no department store. But even tech giants aren’t immune to disruption, regulation, or shifting consumer behavior — especially as the AI boom accelerates at breakneck speed.

Some analysts already warn that parts of the AI frenzy may be illusory, with money circulating among a few dominant players who have yet to prove long-term profitability.

The century bond is just one piece of Alphabet’s massive financing puzzle.

The company is simultaneously marketing a seven-part US dollar bond deal, expected to be priced shortly, and plans to debut bonds in Swiss francs as well. In November alone, Alphabet raised $17.5 billion in the US, drawing nearly $90 billion in investor orders, including a 50-year bond — the longest tech corporate bond issued in dollars last year.

Across Big Tech, borrowing is exploding. Morgan Stanley expects cloud hyperscalers to raise $400 billion in debt this year, up from $165 billion in 2025, as AI infrastructure spending soars.

Despite the surge in borrowing, most analysts believe Alphabet’s 100-year bond will remain a rare financial spectacle, not a new norm.

“It’s difficult to say whether this becomes commonplace,” said Kerr. “It’s not even really commonplace in the treasury market.”

Still, the message is clear: Alphabet isn’t just planning for the next earnings cycle or the next product launch — it’s financing a vision that stretches a full century into the future.

In an industry obsessed with speed, Alphabet is betting that sometimes, thinking slow — very slow — is the boldest move of all.