Core Scientific Lands $500M Loan at ~7.8% as AI Data Center Financing Boom Continues
Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) has secured a new $500 million credit facility as data center operators continue tapping debt markets to fund the rapid buildout of AI and high-density computing infrastructure.
The bitcoin mining giant said Thursday it completed the initial closing of a $500 million 364-day loan facility arranged by Morgan Stanley, providing additional liquidity to support the development of its data center projects.
The facility carries an interest rate of the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) plus 250 basis points. With SOFR currently around 5.3%, the loan implies an effective borrowing cost of roughly 7.8%.
The agreement also includes an accordion feature that could increase total commitments by another $500 million, bringing the potential size of the financing to $1 billion if lenders agree to expand the facility.
Core Scientific said proceeds from borrowings under the loan may be used for general corporate purposes tied to its data center expansion, including equipment purchases, land acquisition, pre-development work and securing additional energy capacity.
Chief Executive Officer Adam Sullivan said the financing strengthens the company’s liquidity and gives it greater flexibility to accelerate project timelines as it positions itself as a provider of high-density colocation infrastructure.
The loan comes as Core Scientific continues pivoting toward AI and high-performance computing workloads after emerging from bankruptcy last year. The company has been repositioning parts of its large power footprint and data center infrastructure—originally built for bitcoin mining—to serve the growing demand for AI compute.
The financing also reflects a broader wave of borrowing across the digital infrastructure sector as operators race to secure capital for data center expansion.
As previously reported in Miner Weekly, more than $33 billion in bonds and other debt instruments have been issued across the sector since early 2025 by just a short list of data center, energy and utility companies, funding projects tied to AI compute, power infrastructure and large-scale data center development.
Many of those financings have carried relatively high yields, often in the 6% to 9% range, reflecting the capital-intensive nature and still-emerging credit profiles of some infrastructure developers.
