USD.AI, a financing platform for AI compute assets, and Singapore-based alternative asset manager BSQ Capital Partners have formed a joint venture to finance AI compute infrastructure operators across the Asia Pacific.
The partnership targets up to $300 million in initial deployment, with potential expansion to $1 billion upon reaching performance milestones, according to an announcement.
The JV aims to address a financing gap for AI infrastructure operators that own high-value GPU fleets but have limited access to conventional bank financing, the companies said.
Under the arrangement, BSQ Capital Partners will serve as investment manager, sourcing and managing transactions across markets including Australia, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and India.
USD.AI will provide financing capital and its underwriting platform, which assesses GPU hardware as collateral and enables faster loan execution.
“Asia-Pacific’s AI compute buildout is moving faster than traditional financiers can respond,” David Woo, co-founder and partner at BSQ Capital Partners, said in a statement.
He said the venture would combine BSQ’s regional origination capabilities with USD.AI’s financing platform to give AI infrastructure operators access to institutional capital.
Conor Moore, chief operating officer and co-founder of Permian Labs, the developer of USD.AI, said GPUs had become highly productive assets that should be financeable as such.
He described BSQ as a partner with strong regional relationships and expertise in AI infrastructure financing.
The companies said Asia-Pacific has become one of the fastest-growing markets for AI compute, driven by sovereign AI initiatives, cloud expansion and the emergence of independent compute operators.
However, many lenders remain reluctant to finance GPU assets because they lack the underwriting tools needed to assess the hardware as collateral.
Founded in 2022, BSQ Capital Partners focuses on asset-backed financing and credit strategies for AI, digital assets, and other emerging infrastructure sectors.
USD.AI provides non-recourse financing secured by GPU infrastructure, with transactions settled on-chain and backed by the underlying compute assets.
