Nvidia-backed Nscale, Anthropic in talks for new US$45 billion AI cloud deal, source says
The data centre developer is in talks to sell computing power for artificial intelligence (AI) to the company that makes Claude.
Nscale is seeking another major deal with the AI lab for a second facility at its Monarch data centre campus in West Virginia. PHOTO: REUTERS
[SAN FRANCISCO] Nscale is in talks to sell computing power for artificial intelligence (AI) to Anthropic, the company that makes Claude. The deal could be worth about US$45 billion, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday (Oct 19).
The person said Nscale is seeking another major deal with the AI company to build a second facility at its Monarch data centre campus in West Virginia.
In August, Anthropic agreed to spend US$45 billion to rent AI computing power from Nscale's data centre campus in West Virginia. According to the source, a second Monarch building would provide 460 megawatts of computing power using Nvidia's advanced Vera Rubin AI chips.
Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
The person said Anthropic also has the right to make the first offer for Monarch's planned third building before other potential buyers or partners. Talks are still taking place, and the details of the plan could change.
Bloomberg, which first reported the news, also said that a group of investors had urged Anthropic to lower its target valuation for its initial public offering (IPO) after a series of setbacks in the AI market.
Investors are paying closer attention to companies that are expanding their AI infrastructure using borrowed money. Last week, Nscale rival CoreWeave's shares fell sharply amid concerns about its US$50 billion debt load. These concerns helped trigger a worldwide sell-off in AI stocks.
The possible deal comes after Microsoft withdrew from a deal to make Nscale's major data centre its main facility. Delays in connecting the site to the power supply pushed the expected supply date into the 2030s.
Nscale has grown quickly since it launched. In two and a half years, the total value of its contracted deals rose from US$100 million to more than US$103 billion. It competes with Nebius, Crusoe and Lambda.
According to Nscale's prospectus, Microsoft and Anthropic are expected to be the company's main customers in the future. REUTERS