Anthropic and Nscale reportedly in talks on a second $45 billion compute deal
Bloomberg reports Anthropic and Nscale are discussing a second compute deal worth about $45 billion. No final decisions have been made, Finansavisen says.
Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing people familiar with the negotiations, that Nscale is in talks to sell computing power to Anthropic in a deal that could be worth about $45 billion. For now, that's a very large number waiting for a signature.
What the reports say
According to the Bloomberg report as relayed by Reuters, Nscale, an Nvidia-backed data center developer and AI cloud firm, wants another major deal with the Claude maker for a second facility at its Monarch campus in West Virginia. The FT and TechCrunch carry the same story.
A source cited by Valor Econômico says the second Monarch building would supply 460 megawatts using Nvidia's Vera Rubin chips. The same source says Anthropic also holds a right of first refusal on a planned third building. Finansavisen reports a deal could be ready within days, but details can change and no final decisions have been made.
What is not known
Nscale and Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, and Reuters could not independently verify the report. The reports give no delivery schedule for the 460 megawatts, no price per unit of compute and no financing plan. I would like all three.
The context
In August, Anthropic finalized a $45 billion agreement to lease capacity at Nscale's West Virginia campus, according to Valor. Nscale's prospectus puts Anthropic's existing agreements at up to about $44.6 billion, per Finansavisen. Microsoft was expected to lease at Monarch, then pulled out over power connection delays that pushed its expected supply date into the 2030s, according to Reuters. Anthropic became the tenant. Finansavisen says Monarch can scale past 8 gigawatts of gross power.
Nscale filed for a U.S. IPO in September but has not begun formal marketing while it works through SEC comments, per Finansavisen. The company reportedly aims for a valuation around $30 billion, and a group of investors urged it to aim lower. Valor attributes that pushback to Anthropic's valuation target instead, so the outlets disagree on who got the memo.
The timing is awkward. Last week, shares of rival CoreWeave plunged on concerns over its $50 billion debt, and Valor says that set off a global selloff in AI stocks. Whether Nscale can fund a second build in that mood is an open question.
Power, chips, a tenant and a signature. The reported plan names the first three; the fourth is still pending.
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Sources
- Nscale, Anthropic in talks for $45 billion cloud computing deal, Bloomberg News reports, Yahoo Finance
- Nscale e Anthropic negociam novo contrato de US$ 45 bi para infraestrutura de IA, diz fonte, Valor Econômico
- Ny milliardavtale: Anthropic i storforhandlinger med Nscale, Finansavisen
- Anthropic and Nscale in talks for second multibillion-dollar deal, FT
- Nscale and Anthropic are reportedly in talks for yet another $45 billion compute deal, TechCrunch
- Anthropic nearing second $45B deal with Nscale for compute power: report, Seeking Alpha
Meanwhile at the anchor desk
Forty-five billion dollars, and then a sequel! Some people go back for a second helping; Anthropic reportedly goes back for a second 460-megawatt building, with a right of first refusal on a third. Magnificent appetite.
A rumor about 460 megawatts of Vera Rubin capacity, and the reports give no delivery date, no unit price and no financing plan. The August deal is $45 billion in the press; the prospectus puts existing agreements at up to about $44.6 billion. Rounding is a lifestyle.
