Skip to navigationSkip to main contentSkip to right columnADVERTISEMENTAnders Bylund, The Motley FoolSun, July 19, 2026 at 5:33 PM GMT+2 4 min readWarren Buffett has a confession: He missed the boat on Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL).The 95-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRKA)(NYSE: BRKB) told CNBC on Wednesday that he personally initiated his company's investment in the Google parent. He also admitted he should have bought in years ago, back when Alphabet was "asset-light and a markets darling."Missed Nvidia in 2009? This Rare Signal Is Flashing Again. In 2009, a "Double Down" signal flashed for a little-known chipmaker called Nvidia. For the first time in years, that same "Total Conviction" signal is flashing for a company 1/100th the size of Nvidia. Continue »So, Buffett is making up for lost time. Berkshire now holds roughly $31 billion in Alphabet stock: about $21 billion in public shares, plus a $10 billion private placement that was part of Alphabet's $80 billion equity raise in June. At this point, it's the fifth-largest holding in Berkshire's portfolio, behind Apple, American Express, Coca-Cola, and Bank of America.Close-up photo of Berkshire Hathaway chairman, Warren Buffett. Image source: The Motley Fool.A trillion dollars here, a trillion dollars thereThe timing is notable. Bond markets are getting nervous about artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure spending. Tech titans spent roughly $1 trillion on data centers last year, and a Motley Fool research report shows construction plans totaling $4 trillion from now to 2030.According to Apollo Global Management, coverage ratios for hyperscaler bonds dropped from nearly 5x in February to under 2x in July.In other words, investor appetite for AI-related bonds has cooled significantly; back in February, buyers wanted 5 times as many bonds as were offered, but by July, that ratio had dropped to less than double. The mood is still bullish, but significantly less than before.The "who holds the risk if AI returns are delayed" question is getting louder. It's like a trillion-dollar game of hot potato.Why Alphabet's approach to funding AI is differentBuffett's answer, apparently, is that