Is the AI funding boom starting to crack? The FT reports two new setbacks. OpenAI has SLASHED its funding target by $10 BILLION. It now seeks $20 BILLION at a $1.25 TRILLION valuation, down from $1.4 TRILLION. Blackstone, an anchor investor in Anthropic's $63 BILLION chip financing deal, warned Anthropic may not get an investment-grade rating after its IPO. By early October, investors had lent AI-related companies an estimated $500 BILLION in 2026, per Goldman Sachs. The cost of insuring several AI-linked companies' debt against default rose sharply in October. CoreWeave's five-year credit default swap spread topped 1,100 basis points in mid-October. Oracle's reached roughly 300 basis points in October. Meta's hit a record 114.79 basis points on October 22, after its earnings.