Amazon is raising prices on its EC2 Capacity Blocks for ML service by roughly 15%, with the updated rates taking effect next week. The service lets customers reserve access to Nvidia chips spanning generations from the older A100 to the newer B300, according to MarketWatch.

In parallel, Amazon has approached outside investors about a deal that would transfer roughly $8 billion worth of Nvidia Grace Blackwell chips into a special-purpose vehicle and then lease the hardware back, the Financial Times reported, as cited by Reuters. Under the proposed arrangement, investors would fund the SPV through debt purchases, and Amazon would retain an equity interest of as much as 10% in the vehicle.

The chips in question are already operating. Amazon either purchased or leased them, and they now run at more than a dozen sites across five U.S. states, including Nevada and Virginia.

Pricing details

Amazon's pricing page for EC2 Capacity Blocks notes that current rates are scheduled for their next update in October 2026. Pricing consists of an upfront reservation fee plus an operating system fee, the company said. The p5.48xlarge instance, which runs eight Nvidia H100 chips, is listed at $41.528 per hour in major U.S. regions.

A 15% increase on that instance would push hourly costs materially higher for customers reserving GPU capacity through the service. The hike applies across the chip generations the service covers, from the A100 through the B300.

Balance sheet mechanics

The two moves together reflect the pressure Amazon faces in financing its AI infrastructure expansion. The proposed sale-leaseback structure would let Amazon lighten its balance sheet by transferring the financial burden of costly chips to third-party investors, according to the Financial Times.

The scale of that burden is substantial. Amazon's capital expenditure budget for 2026 stands at $200 billion, up from $131 billion in 2025, with data centers, chips, and related hardware accounting for the bulk of the outlays.

A borrowing push nearing $100 billion

The company has tapped a range of financing tools to fund that spending. In June, it entered into a $17.5 billion term loan. Last week, it raised £4.25 billion through a debut sterling bond offering. That borrowing push has made Amazon the largest bond issuer among major hyperscalers this year, with cumulative sales equivalent to nearly $100 billion.

The $8 billion chip SPV, if completed, would add a further off-balance-sheet instrument to that toolkit, moving depreciation-heavy GPU assets into a structure funded by outside debt investors while Amazon keeps operational use of the hardware through lease payments and a minority equity stake.

For cloud customers, the immediate effect is straightforward: reserving Nvidia GPU capacity through EC2 Capacity Blocks will cost roughly 15% more starting next week.

Amazon and Nvidia did not respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters.