Meta and Anthropic discuss up to $10bn AI compute deal

TL;DR: Meta Platforms is in early talks to lease AI data centre compute capacity to Anthropic in a deal that could reach $10 billion over two years, according to The New York Times. The proposed arrangement would involve monthly payments over two years, with terms still under discussion and an option for either side to end the deal early. The talks may not result in a final agreement.

Meta Platforms is negotiating with Anthropic to lease AI compute capacity from its data centres in a deal that could be worth up to $10 billion over two years, according to a report by The New York Times. The report said Anthropic first proposed the deal a few weeks ago, Meta is still evaluating it, and the negotiations remain at an early stage.

Sources cited by The New York Times said the terms are still being defined. Anthropic would pay Meta in monthly instalments over a two-year period, and both companies could terminate the agreement before the end of the term. The report said the discussions could still fail to produce a final contract.

The proposed Meta deal would be about one-third the size of Anthropic's previously reported three-year compute agreement with SpaceX, valued at $45 billion. That SpaceX agreement gives Anthropic access to more than 300 megawatts of capacity and more than 220,000 Nvidia GPUs at the Colossus 1 data centre in Memphis, Tennessee, which supports Anthropic's Claude Pro and Claude Max assistants.

Anthropic has also signed other compute agreements, including up to 5 gigawatts of capacity with Amazon; a 5 gigawatt agreement with Google and Broadcom that starts in 2027; a strategic alliance with Microsoft and Nvidia covering $30 billion in Azure capacity; and a $1.8 billion compute deal with Akamai Technologies signed in May, according to the report.

Related questions

• What is the reported value and term of the proposed Meta-Anthropic compute deal?
• How would Anthropic reportedly pay Meta under the proposed agreement?
• What other AI compute capacity agreements has Anthropic signed with SpaceX, Amazon, Google, Broadcom, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Akamai?