Anthropic buys $3.4bn of gas turbines to power its own data centres

[Laura53]

Anthropic is moving from renting computing power to building its own energy supply. TechCrunch reports that the company has bought $3.4 billion worth of Caterpillar gas generators, capable of up to 1.7 gigawatts

The turbines were originally ordered by OnePWR, which could not get financing, so Anthropic went straight to Caterpillar. The figures come via a Financial Times report

This marks a change of approach. TechCrunch notes that Anthropic's S-1 filing shows it pays xAI $1.25 billion a month for compute through May 2029

Turbine backlogs run into the early 2030s, and Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta also plan on site gas plants. TechCrunch suggests the purchase could be a last resort, or a way to keep scarce capacity away from rivals

Power has become one of the biggest limits on AI growth, so securing generators makes strategic sense. Using gas raises questions about emissions, though, and many will hope for cleaner options over time. With backlogs stretching for years, buying existing orders is a clever shortcut

Should AI companies be building their own power plants? And how can the industry balance growth with climate goals?

Anthropic joins AI's natural gas frenzy, buys $3.4B worth of turbines | TechCrunchtechcrunch.com