Anthropic filing shows compute costs taking a bigger share of revenue, TechCrunch reports
An updated IPO filing shows revenue rising to $17 billion in the third quarter while compute used 58% of it, up from 48%, according to TechCrunch.
Anthropic's revenue grew sharply in its latest quarter, but a larger share of it went to paying for computing power, according to TechCrunch, which reviewed a new filing the company released on Monday.
The filing updates the S-1 that Anthropic released last week ahead of its planned IPO. That earlier document covered results through June 30. The new one adds another quarter, running to September 30, TechCrunch reported.
Revenue reached $17 billion in the quarter, up from $11.5 billion in the quarter before. The operating loss also grew, which TechCrunch said was largely due to rising compute costs. Compute took up 58% of revenue, up from 48% in the previous quarter.
A chart in the filing tracks revenue for every dollar spent on compute. According to TechCrunch, that figure rose steadily from the start of 2025 and peaked at just over 2x in the previous quarter, then fell to 1.72x.
Anthropic's compute bill for the quarter came to $10 billion, TechCrunch reported. The filing says this included:
“"$5.0 billion of compute under short-term commitments, which currently costs significantly more than comparable compute procured under our multi-year commitments."”
TechCrunch said demand grew so fast that the company had to pay higher rates to secure capacity. It reported that Anthropic has been paying SpaceX $1.25 billion a month for compute and has multibillion-dollar deals with Nscale, Akamai and Volta. TechCrunch described these as neoclouds: smaller providers that offer more flexible deals at higher rates than hyperscalers.
The figures matter because the company is heading toward an IPO, and TechCrunch noted that margins are getting worse at a moment when improving them could help win over investors. The filing itself says the company expects compute and infrastructure expenses "to increase in absolute dollars and remain our largest operating expense for the foreseeable future."
Anthropic is also trying to build its own compute base under a project it calls "Anthropic Direct," TechCrunch reported. In TechCrunch's assessment, those efforts will not keep pace with demand, and neoclouds will remain the company's best option.
Much is not yet clear. TechCrunch wrote that many indications suggest the decline in compute margins is more of a blip than a long-term problem, but that is the outlet's reading and not a figure from the filing. The article does not give the size of the operating loss or say when the IPO will take place.
TechCrunch also pointed to risks outside the company's control. It said the data center buildout could slow over the next year if bond markets become nervous or local opposition grows, and that either would make Anthropic's compute costs harder to manage.
This story is based on a single report, by TechCrunch.
