Anthropic strikes $3.4B data center gas deal, FT reports

Anthropic has agreed a $3.4 billion deal to generate gas-fired power for its data centres, according to the Financial Times. The FT reported that the AI lab went around traditional suppliers to get scarce generating equipment as demand for energy rises. The Economic Times later ran the FT's report. Neither report has named the counterparty or listed the sites involved, and Anthropic has not publicly commented.economictimes.indiatimes.com+1

The report marks the latest step in Anthropic's move from renting computing power to securing the power behind it. The company is getting ready for a public listing and has said electricity is one of its main constraints.

Gas at the core of the buildout

In its IPO prospectus, Anthropic said that "certain of our planned data centre facilities rely on dedicated onsite natural gas-fired generation," Canada's National Observer reported. The filing also warns that "competition for access to electrical supply and data center locations with adequate power availability is intense," and says competition from hyperscalers "could drive up the price of natural gas," according to The Verge. Fuel costs under its arrangements are generally passed through to Anthropic "without cost caps," the prospectus says, as FourWeekMBA quoted it.theverge.com+2

Anthropic's updated prospectus lists about $895.4 billion in purchase and lease commitments, "substantially all" related to compute and infrastructure, DatacenterDynamics reported. Through a new initiative called Anthropic Direct, partners will secure land, power and facilities, and Anthropic will lease the compute, Fortune reported.fortune.com+1

A squeeze on equipment

A shortage of gas turbines is slowing data centre construction, and some developers are putting gas engines on site to avoid long waits for grid connections, The Verge noted. Engine maker Wärtsilä said in October that data centre interest stayed strong and that "lead times for our engines continue to increase," according to FourWeekMBA.fourweekmba.com+1

Anthropic already has gas-powered capacity in its pipeline. Nscale's Monarch campus in West Virginia, where Anthropic agreed to rent 460 megawatts for $45 billion over six years, will run its first phase on 864 gas-fired engines, The Next Web reported. Generator maker ERock has also announced a 470-megawatt agreement with Anthropic, according to the company.erock.com+1

Pledges on power prices

Anthropic has also tried to address local worries about electricity bills. The company has committed to pay "100% of the grid upgrades needed to interconnect our data centers" and to "bring net-new power generation online to match our data centers' electricity needs," according to Anthropic. Its prospectus is blunt about the risk on the supply side. Without secure gas supply and pipeline capacity, it says, planned data centre projects could be delayed or abandoned, The Verge reported.anthropic.com+1