Anthropic Buys Its Own Gas Turbines in a $3.4 Billion Deal
Anthropic is spending $3.4 billion on Caterpillar gas generators with up to 1.7 gigawatts of capacity, its first move to own power infrastructure rather than rent it.
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giftdetect· the right gift in minutesAnthropic is investing $3.4 billion in natural gas turbines, according to the Financial Times. It is the largest single investment in power generation by an AI company known to date. The generators come from Caterpillar and can produce up to 1.7 gigawatts of electricity.
The deal marks a shift. Until now, Anthropic preferred to rent its infrastructure rather than buy it. The company's IPO prospectus, filed in May, shows it plans to pay SpaceX subsidiary xAI $1.25 billion a month for computing capacity until May 2029. Buying the turbines is its first investment in infrastructure of its own for generating power from natural gas.
How the deal came together
Anthropic struck the agreement with OnePWR Solutions, a Texas company that supplies the turbines and also provides planning and construction resources. OnePWR ordered the turbines from Caterpillar two years ago but, according to sources cited by the Financial Times, could not finance the purchase. Anthropic stepped in and took over the existing order.
Anthropic had originally been interested in becoming a OnePWR customer. One plausible reading is that it preferred to keep the generation capacity itself rather than give a competitor the chance to secure it.
Energy expert Arash Nazhad told the Financial Times that owning part of their power infrastructure and having capacity in-house lets companies better shield themselves from disruptions outside their control.
Why it matters
The AI industry's appetite for electricity could put fracking, which US President Trump supports, back in focus. If the buying spree continues, US data centers alone could consume more natural gas by 2035 than Germany and Japan combined.
Fracking is controversial because of its environmental risks, including contamination of drinking water and groundwater. Germany has had strict rules and broad bans on the technique since 2017.
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