BlockBeats News, July 21st, a study by Nikkei showed that with the surge in artificial intelligence investment, hidden debt of US tech giants has grown eightfold in just four years, estimated to reach $16.5 trillion. This number exceeds their on-the-book actual debt, making it harder for investors to assess the related risks.

Nikkei analyzed the recent financial statements and other data of Google's parent company Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and Oracle. Among them, Meta's off-balance sheet debt is particularly high, at around $420 billion, nearly three times its on-the-book recorded debt.