Anthropic is spending $3.4B on Caterpillar natural gas turbines capable of up to 1.7GW, a notable shift for a company that historically rented compute. The AI power crunch has turned into a physical e

What happened: Anthropic is spending $3.4 billion on natural gas turbines, buying Caterpillar generators that supplier OnePWR had originally ordered, per a Financial Times report. Key numbers: $3.4 billion for turbines capable of up to 1.7 gigawatts. Anthropic pays xAI $1.25 billion per month through May 2029. Why it matters: Anthropic has generally rented rather than bought infrastructure, and the purchase looks like a last resort as power demand rises and turbine and grid queues stretch out. One analyst expects gas prices could more than triple by the end of the decade in some markets.

Anthropic is spending $3.4 billion on natural gas turbines, buying Caterpillar generators that supplier OnePWR had originally ordered, per a Financial Times report.

Anthropic has generally rented rather than bought infrastructure, and the purchase looks like a last resort as power demand rises and turbine and grid queues stretch out. One analyst expects gas prices could more than triple by the end of the decade in some markets.