Anthropic and Nscale reportedly in talks over a second $45 billion compute deal
TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg, says the two companies may soon announce another deal of the same size, about a month after their first. Talks are still going on.
Anthropic and the AI infrastructure provider Nscale may be close to announcing a second $45 billion compute deal, according to TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg.
Bloomberg's report relied on people familiar with the matter, TechCrunch said. Those people warned that talks are still going on and that the details could change.
This report rests on a single outlet, TechCrunch, which is passing on Bloomberg's reporting. TechCrunch said it had contacted both Nscale and Anthropic for more information and would update its story if they replied. Its article did not include a response from either company.
According to TechCrunch, the two companies announced a $45 billion compute deal a little over a month ago. A new agreement would be the latest in what TechCrunch called a long string of giant compute deals Anthropic has struck over the past year.
The report matters because of the amount of money involved and the doubts some investors already have. TechCrunch reported that the huge sums going into AI compute deals have worried some investors, who fear that companies are spending too much for too little profit. TechCrunch said Anthropic has kept making these partnerships anyway, because it believes the spending will pay off in the end.
The talks also come as both companies try to go public. TechCrunch reported that Anthropic is still expected to go public this year. Nscale is also seeking to go public, and Bloomberg reported on Monday that the company is getting pushback from investors over its proposed valuation of $30 billion, according to TechCrunch.
A lot is still unknown. Neither company has confirmed the talks publicly, according to the TechCrunch report. The report does not say when a deal might be announced, how it would be structured or what compute it would cover. It also does not explain how a second deal would relate to the first one. Because the people Bloomberg spoke to said the details could change, the final size and terms of any agreement, and whether one is signed at all, are still open questions.
