Anthropic in Talks for Second $45B Nscale AI Deal
Anthropic is in talks with Nvidia-backed Nscale for a second $45B AI computing deal - a 460MW West Virginia data center built on Nvidia's Vera Rubin chips.
Anthropic wants even more computing power. On Oct 19, 2026, Bloomberg first reported that the Claude maker is in talks with Nvidia-backed data center company Nscale for a second AI computing deal worth about $45 billion. The deal would cover a new 460-megawatt building at Nscale's Monarch campus in West Virginia, running on Nvidia's advanced Vera Rubin AI chips.
The second deal on the table
This is not Anthropic's first deal with Nscale. In August, Anthropic agreed to spend $45 billion renting AI cloud computing from Nscale's existing West Virginia campus. Now the two sides are negotiating a second building of the same size at the same site, with Anthropic also holding a right of first refusal on a third building. Reuters reports the deal could be finalized in the coming days, but says talks are still ongoing and details could change. Neither company commented.
What 460 megawatts of Vera Rubin chips means
The new building would deliver 460 megawatts of computing power, using Nvidia's Vera Rubin chips - the newest generation of AI hardware. That is enough electricity to run a medium-sized city, dedicated entirely to training and running AI models. For Anthropic, the deal locks in the massive infrastructure it needs as Claude usage keeps growing.
Why it comes right after Microsoft walked away
The timing matters. Microsoft recently pulled out of a deal to anchor a flagship Nscale data center after power connection delays pushed the expected supply date into the 2030s. Nscale is seeking a valuation of about $30 billion in its planned market debut, and investors have been nervous - a cohort of investors reportedly urged the company to lower its IPO target after a string of setbacks for AI stocks. A second $45 billion Anthropic commitment would be a strong answer.
The debt question over AI infrastructure
Investors are watching debt-driven AI expansion closely. Last week, Nscale rival CoreWeave's shares slumped over concerns about its $50 billion debt load, fueling a broader selloff in AI stocks. Nscale itself has grown at breakneck speed, with total contracted value rising from $100 million to more than $103 billion in just two and a half years. It now competes with Nebius, Crusoe and Lambda to rent out AI computing.
What this means
Anthropic is racing to lock in computing capacity on every front - alongside this Nscale deal, Bloomberg reports it has a $50 billion pact with Fluidstack, $10 billion with Volta Infrastructure, and $45 billion with Elon Musk's SpaceX. The Monarch campus alone is designed to scale past eight gigawatts when complete. The message is simple: in the AI race, the winner will be whoever secures the most power.