Google Backs Anthropic with Billions in Data Center Guarantees

Google has stepped in to guarantee billions in lease and power-payment obligations for Anthropic, the AI startup, in case of a default. According to The Wall Street Journal, these guarantees are tied to Anthropic’s lease of data centers, including a new facility in Hubbard, Texas. The Texas site, developed by Nexus Data Centers, will provide Anthropic with four data center leases and feature a natural-gas power plant generating 1.6 gigawatts of electricity. The deal could be announced as soon as today.

Anthropic plans to equip the site with tensor processing units, co-designed by Google and Broadcom, which will be financed through a separate agreement with Broadcom. Meanwhile, Microsoft has expanded its data center footprint significantly, adding 88 data centers in the last fiscal year. During its recent earnings call, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted the addition of 31 data centers across five continents, contributing 1 gigawatt of capacity.

Meta Platforms has also revealed substantial future spending commitments, totaling nearly $700 billion, primarily for AI data centers, cloud computing, and infrastructure. The company’s quarterly filing disclosed approximately $278.99 billion in operating and finance leases not yet included on its balance sheet. Meta is aggressively investing in data center expansion and securing necessary components for future capacity.