Nvidia-backed Nscale, Anthropic in talks for new US$45 billion AI cloud deal, source says

[SAN FRANCISCO] Nscale is in talks to sell artificial intelligence computing power to Claude maker Anthropic in a new deal that could be worth about US$45 billion, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday (Oct 19).

The data centre developer is seeking another major deal with the AI lab for a second facility at its Monarch data centre campus in West Virginia, the person said.

In August, Anthropic struck a deal to spend US$45 billion to ​rent AI cloud computing power from Nscale’s West ‌Virginia data centre campus. A second Monarch building would deliver 460 megawatts of computing power using Nvidia’s advanced Vera Rubin AI chips, according to the source.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Anthropic also has the right of first refusal on Monarch’s expected third building, the person said, adding discussions were ongoing and details of the plan could change.

Bloomberg, which first reported the news, also said a cohort of investors had urged Anthropic to lower its initial public offering valuation target after a series of market setbacks for AI companies.

Investors have sharpened scrutiny of companies that are increasingly turning to debt-driven AI infrastructure expansion. Last week, Nscale rival CoreWeave’s shares slumped amid concerns over its US$50 billion debt load, fuelling a global sell-off in AI stocks.

The news of a potential tie-up comes after Microsoft pulled out of a deal to anchor a flagship data centre for Nscale following power ​connection delays that pushed its expected supply date into the 2030s.

Nscale has grown rapidly since ⁠launch, increasing ​its total contracted value from US$100 million to more than US$103 ​billion in two-and-a-half years and competing with Nebius , Crusoe and Lambda.

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According to the Nscale prospectus, Microsoft and Anthropic are expected to be the company’s major customers in the future. REUTERS