AI infrastructure financing cools down as multiple IPOs are cancelled or postponed

In just a few weeks, three proposed listings related to AI infrastructure have been canceled, suspended, or postponed. Private equity valuations have been set at levels below previous targets, and some debt markets have even started pricing in genuine distress. These signs collectively indicate that investors, who once provided funding for AI development with almost no questions asked, are becoming increasingly selective.SK Hynix canceled the US listing plan for its subsidiary Solidigm; the IPO was originally intended to finance the construction of a new wafer factory in the United States. Earlier this month, Australian data center operator Firmus Grid canceled a nearly $5 billion IPO, citing market volatility. Just days later, Airtrunk, supported by Blackstone, postponed its planned Singapore listing to the first half of next year.Interest rates are on the rise: the Federal Reserve will resume rate hikes in September, and the Bank of Japan has pushed its policy rate to a 31-year high. Higher interest rates make financing projects whose revenues will only be realized years after expenditures significantly more costly. Geopolitical risks are also rising. The war in Iran has kept oil prices elevated and inflation expectations high. As the scale of AI spending grows, investors are paying closer attention to when it will deliver returns.