Sixth Street stays cautious on AI lending as speculation risks build

On November 12, 2026, Sixth Street co-founder, CEO and co-CIO Alan Waxman appeared on Bloomberg Deals for a conversation with Dani Burger covering the current AI investment cycle, credit market dynamics and related capital allocation trends. In the same day, Cailian Press reported that Waxman said he is seeing a growing number of signs of turbulence in the AI boom, and that his firm has largely remained on the sidelines. He described capex in the sector as unprecedented in scale, adding that because AI keeps evolving, no one really understands the unit economics—at least not in the credit space, which is harder to assess than equities. Waxman said Sixth Street is worried about the rapid expansion of credit in AI and what he called speculative frenzy, animal spirits or fear of missing out, and said he has started to see signs of turbulence, such as banks seeking to sell construction loans. As concerns about risk in the sector build, lenders have pulled back from financing AI infrastructure projects. As of now, Sixth Street is maintaining a cautious, wait-and-see stance on expanding AI lending, without disclosing any concrete lending commitments.