AI firms and the US government are competing for capital: US Treasury issuance excluding T-bills has risen to $5.06 trillion over the last 12 months, the highest since the 2021 record. Over the same period, corporate debt issuance has surged to a record $2.64 trillion. This brings total Treasury and corporate debt issuance up to $7.70 trillion, an all-time high. This is increasingly driven by AI-related firms, whose bond issuance has soared +541% YoY in 2025, to $109 billion, and another +78% in the first half of 2026, to a record $194 billion. In other words, corporate America is funding one of the largest investment cycles in decades while the US government is running historically high deficits, forcing both public and private borrowers to compete for capital. This competition is adding to other forces pushing long-term yields higher, including inflation, Fed policy, and economic growth expectations. The US bond market is entering an era of intense capital competition.