The Zhitong Finance App learned that, according to reports, Anthropic PBC has agreed to spend 3.4 billion US dollars to purchase gas generators for data centers. This is the largest single purchase of power generation equipment by known artificial intelligence (AI) laboratories.
The report pointed out that in late September, the company secured a total supply commitment of 1.7 gigawatt heavy duty generator sets from OnePWR Solutions, an equipment supplier headquartered in San Antonio. The deal did not include the acquisition of OnePWR itself, nor the transfer of employees along with the deal, but the deal covered the engineering and construction capacity required to install these generators. The report also said that Anthropic initially planned to buy electricity from OnePWR, adjust the plan later, and then take over the generator set order placed by the latter to Caterpillar (CAT.US).
The move locks in devices that can be delivered in the near future and within the next two years.
The deal further shows that major AI laboratories are entering deep into the energy circuit to bypass the middle link and compete for scarce power generation equipment.
At the same time, the deal also reflects Anthropic's strategy to strengthen control over the underlying infrastructure of the AI business. Previously, the company relied heavily on partners for electricity, chips, data centers, and land resources. Anthropic said last Monday that it plans to invest more than 895 billion US dollars in the next few years, and the vast majority of the capital will be used for computing power costs and infrastructure construction.
Controlling power equipment may help Anthropic avoid project delays, but it has also increased its financial commitments, and the company is preparing for a possible listing. The report added that the company may go public as early as this month, while Blackstone warned investors that Anthropic could receive a speculative credit rating.
OnePwr and Anthropic both declined to comment.
