Anthropic and NTT Data Near US$6.3bn Japan Data Centre Deal
NTT DATA Group is in the final stages of talks to build a data centre in western Japan for Anthropic, according to multiple unnamed sources cited by Nikkei Asia, a news magazine.
The facility would sit in Osaka prefecture and be Anthropic's first dedicated site in Japan.
Anthropic develops some of the world's most advanced AI models, and the deal would give the company a bespoke base for its operations in the country.
NTT DATA and Anthropic aim to sign an agreement by the end of fiscal 2026, the Japanese financial year running through next March, with partial operations targeted for as early as 2028.
Both NTT DATA and Anthropic declined to comment when approached by Nikkei Asia.
Scale rivals Japan's largest sites
Construction costs for the facility could reach ¥1tn (US$6.3bn), according to the sources.
They also expect the site to have a total power intake capacity of up to 500MW, making it potentially one of Japan's largest data centres by power capacity.
AI data centres rely on high volumes of GPUs, which are widely used to train and run AI models.
Installing large numbers of advanced AI servers equipped with these chips would push the total investment required into the several trillion yen range.
Key facts
Construction costs could reach ¥1tn (US$6.3bn)
Facility planned for Osaka prefecture, Japan
Total power intake capacity of up to 500MW
Agreement targeted by the end of fiscal 2026 (through next March)
Partial operations expected as early as 2028
Total investment could reach several trillion yen once GPU server costs are factored in
Power supply remains a hurdle
Securing enough electricity for the facility presents a clear challenge given the scale involved.
Drawing 500MW from utilities through the conventional grid would take considerable time to arrange, according to the sources.
As a result, the project will initially look at alternatives, including on-site power generation and fuel cells, to meet demand without waiting on grid capacity.
Big ambitions
Anthropic is looking into building new data centres in several Asian countries.
The company made headlines back in September with the news from Reuters that it had signed its first lease for a data centre in Australia. Located in Western Queensland, the campus is targeting 2.16GW of capacity and potentially coming online in 2027.
Anthropic confidentially filed for an IPO with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) back in June. According to the IPO prospectus seen by Reuters, it has made long-term computing and infrastructure commitments worth US$518bn.
Back in June 2026, the Japanese government announced that it is targeting ¥32.7tn (US$210bn) in combined public and private investment in data centres and storage batteries.
According to its website, NTT DATA operates more than 2GW of critical IT load across in excess of 160 countries and more than 20 countries.
NTT DATA's partners include:
Microsoft: NTT DATA maintains a major global strategic alliance with Microsoft to deliver enterprise cloud solutions, agentic AI frameworks, and hybrid cloud transformations using Azure and Microsoft 365.
Amazon Web Services (AWS): As an AWS Advanced Consulting and MSP Partner, NTT DATA collaborates with AWS to drive enterprise cloud migration, application modernisation, and scalable generative and agentic AI adoption.
SAP: NTT DATA is a global SAP Platinum Partner—and a "RISE with SAP" validated partner—specialising in large-scale enterprise resource planning, supply chain transformation, and industry-specific business solutions.
NVIDIA: NTT DATA partners with NVIDIA to deploy enterprise AI factories, combining NVIDIA’s accelerated computing infrastructure with NTT DATA's integration capabilities to support secure AI adoption.
Cisco: Maintaining a decades-long partnership as a Cisco Global Gold Integrator, NTT DATA works with Cisco to implement next-generation networking, security, IoT, and Private 5G infrastructure.