Nscale in Talks for a Second $45B Anthropic Compute Deal

Nscale, an AI cloud computing and data center company backed by Nvidia, is in talks to sell computing power to Anthropic in a deal that could be worth about $45 billion, Bloomberg reported on 19 October 2026, citing people familiar with the talks. The deal would cover a second building at Nscale’s Monarch data center campus in West Virginia, the people said.

Bloomberg said the talks are still ongoing and the details could change. Representatives for Anthropic and Nscale declined to comment, the report said.

What Bloomberg Reported

According to Bloomberg, Nscale is seeking a second major deal with the company behind Claude. The second building at Monarch would provide 460 megawatts of computing power using Nvidia’s Vera Rubin AI chips, some of the people said.

Anthropic also has the right of first refusal on Monarch’s planned third building, the people told Bloomberg. This means Anthropic would get the first chance to agree to a deal for that building before other potential customers. The people said a deal could be finalized within the next few days.

Bloomberg reported that the talks were still underway, the details could change, and no final decisions had been made. The people asked not to be named because the discussions are private.

What Was Posted on X

Bloomberg posted the report on X at 19:40 UTC on 19 October 2026. It said Nscale was discussing a deal to sell Anthropic computing power worth about $45 billion, according to people familiar with the talks. The post links to the full report. The deal is not final, and both companies declined to comment.

The Agreements Already in Place

Anthropic already has agreements with Nscale for infrastructure worth as much as about $44.6 billion, according to a regulatory filing for Nscale’s planned initial public offering, Bloomberg reported. Bloomberg described Anthropic as one of Nscale’s biggest customers.

Documents in Nscale’s IPO filing say the Monarch campus could eventually support more than 8 gigawatts of total power, Bloomberg reported. Microsoft was initially expected to lease part of the campus. In March, Microsoft announced that it had signed a letter of intent for the planned data center.

Microsoft withdrew from the West Virginia site during the summer, allowing Anthropic to become the tenant, Bloomberg reported. This is a different site from the UK data center deal that Microsoft withdrew from that weekend.

The IPO Behind the Talks

Bloomberg reported that another deal worth billions of dollars could improve Nscale’s chances of success in its IPO. The company is seeking a value of about $30 billion when it enters the stock market. On 18 October, Bloomberg reported that some investors believed a value between $16 billion and $19 billion would be more likely to attract buyers, citing people familiar with the matter.

Nscale filed public paperwork for a US stock market listing in September but had not started its formal marketing process, Bloomberg reported. The company was working through comments from the US Securities and Exchange Commission about its filing.

According to Bloomberg, Nscale raised $3.36 billion in a funding round before its planned IPO last month. Third Point led the round, and other investors included Nvidia, Apollo Global Management, Citadel, Hudson Bay Capital, and Abu Dhabi Investment Council.

Anthropic’s Other Compute Deals

Bloomberg listed other data center deals Anthropic has signed: $50 billion with Fluidstack, $10 billion with Volta Infrastructure Holdings, and $45 billion with SpaceX. Bloomberg reported that Anthropic was valued at $965 billion in May and is expected to have its own IPO in the coming months.

Bloomberg also noted that investors have become more concerned about the large amounts of money being borrowed to build AI data centers.

The Numbers, by Our Arithmetic

Based on our calculations, a deal worth about $45 billion would be around 1.5 times the roughly $30 billion value Nscale is seeking. It would also be about 2.4 to 2.8 times the $16 billion to $19 billion range that Bloomberg said some investors preferred.

If the new deal is agreed, adding its roughly $45 billion value to the existing Nscale agreements worth as much as about $44.6 billion would bring Anthropic’s commitments to Nscale to roughly $89.6 billion. Adding the deals with Fluidstack, SpaceX, and Volta listed by Bloomberg would bring the total to about $195 billion, based on our calculations.

What the Deal Could Mean

The size of the possible deal stands out when compared with Nscale’s planned IPO. Based on our calculations, a contract worth about $45 billion would be around 1.5 times the value Nscale is seeking and about 2.4 to 2.8 times the value some investors reportedly preferred.

The history of the West Virginia campus also matters. Bloomberg reported that Microsoft withdrew from the site during the summer and Anthropic became the tenant. If the new talks lead to a signed agreement, Anthropic would also use the second building.

The report also shows how important Anthropic already is to Nscale. Bloomberg described Anthropic as one of Nscale’s biggest customers. According to Nscale’s IPO filing, their existing agreements are worth as much as about $44.6 billion.

Three Implications

A SECOND BUILDING The deal would cover a second building at Monarch with 460 megawatts of computing power using Vera Rubin chips. Anthropic also has the right of first refusal on a third building, the people told Bloomberg.

AN IPO INPUT Bloomberg reported that another deal worth billions of dollars could improve Nscale’s chances of success in its planned IPO, for which it is seeking a value of about $30 billion.

A LONG LIST OF SUPPLIERS Bloomberg listed Anthropic’s other computing deals as $50 billion with Fluidstack, $45 billion with SpaceX, and $10 billion with Volta. Including the possible Nscale deal, these figures add up to about $195 billion, based on our calculations.

How This Fits Into AI Spending

This story relates to the framework called The AI Capex Map, which looks at how money is used to build AI infrastructure and how that spending is funded.

The framework explains that the main questions are where the money goes, where financial problems might appear, what the spending buys, which companies can afford it, and what happens if revenue does not grow fast enough.

A possible computing contract worth about $45 billion, being discussed before an IPO, is part of this larger question about how AI infrastructure is funded. Bloomberg reported that another deal worth billions of dollars could improve Nscale’s IPO prospects. The framework was published in May 2026, before these talks were reported.

What Is Not Yet Known

The deal has not been signed, and Bloomberg said the terms could change. The report does not say how long the contract would last, the price for each unit of computing power, when the service would begin, or how the roughly $45 billion value was calculated.

Neither company commented. The totals above add together headline values from different contracts, which may have different terms. They help compare the size of the deals, but they do not show how much Anthropic will pay in any single year.

The Bottom Line

Nscale is discussing a deal to sell computing power to Anthropic that could be worth about $45 billion, Bloomberg reported on 19 October 2026, citing people familiar with the talks. The deal would cover a second building at Nscale’s Monarch campus in West Virginia, providing 460 megawatts of computing power using Nvidia Vera Rubin chips. Anthropic already has agreements with Nscale worth as much as about $44.6 billion, according to Nscale’s IPO filing. The talks are taking place as Nscale seeks a value of about $30 billion for its planned IPO, a target some investors have questioned.