Anthropic buys its own gas turbines in a $3.4 billion deal

Anthropic is moving away from its earlier reluctance to buy physical infrastructure: the AI company is investing $3.4 billion in natural gas generators. According to the Financial Times, cited by t3n, it is the largest known single investment by an AI company in power generation equipment. Until now Anthropic had rented its power infrastructure. The move shows that it is not only chips but also electricity that has become the industry's bottleneck.

What is known about the deal

According to t3n, the equipment consists of Caterpillar generators able to produce up to 1.7 gigawatts. The deal ran through the Texas company OnePWR Solutions, which supplies the turbines as well as planning and construction capacity. As t3n describes it, OnePWR had ordered the units from Caterpillar two years earlier but could not finance the purchase. Anthropic took over the order.

The business outlet VKTR adds that the agreement was struck in late September with the San Antonio power supplier, citing the Financial Times and a person familiar with the matter. Anthropic did not acquire OnePWR, and no employees moved over. According to that report, it is not known where the generators will be used.

• Price: about $3.4 billion (Financial Times, via t3n and VKTR)
• Capacity: up to 1.7 gigawatts of Caterpillar natural gas generators
• Supplier: OnePWR Solutions of Texas, including planning and construction
• Price per megawatt: roughly $2 million including installation, by VKTR's calculation
• Delivery: over the next two years according to VKTR, site not yet known

Why Anthropic is buying now

According to t3n, Anthropic originally only wanted to become a customer of OnePWR. Why it took over the order instead is not documented. TechCrunch suggests Anthropic probably preferred to keep the generation capacity for itself, including to keep it from competitors. That is an interpretation, not a confirmed statement. The energy expert Arash Nazhad told the Financial Times that owning part of one's power supply can offer protection against disruptions outside a company's control.

Price also plays a part. According to VKTR, the generators were ordered before equipment prices surged and are due to arrive within two years, whereas new orders face long backlogs. Caterpillar reported third-quarter power generation sales of $3.42 billion, up 30 percent, and a record backlog. It is a seller's market.

The demand for computing is enormous. According to t3n, Anthropic's prospectus filed in May shows plans to pay xAI, a SpaceX subsidiary, $1.25 billion per month for computing capacity until May 2029. VKTR says those payments are expected to reach $3.1 billion a month by year-end. The draft also names nearly $900 billion in computing commitments through 2045 and concedes that Amazon and Google will not supply all the compute requested.

Others are taking similar paths. According to VKTR, xAI disclosed mobile gas turbines worth about $2 billion in its IPO filing, and Alphabet bought the energy developer Intersect for $4.75 billion plus debt. Piper Sandler also lists a $3.4 billion transaction in which the bank advised OnePWR on a sale to an unnamed frontier AI lab.

Risks and open questions

Generating your own power brings new risks. VKTR points out that Anthropic is now exposed to fuel prices, pipeline capacity and competition for gas; the prospectus lists this as a key risk. In February Anthropic pledged to bring new power generation online to match the electricity needs of its data centers. On-site gas, however, raises questions about air permits and local communities: the civil rights group NAACP sued over air quality at xAI's turbines in Memphis.

Gas production also comes into focus. The AI industry's hunger for energy could draw attention to fracking, which US President Donald Trump supports. According to TechCrunch, US data centers could consume more natural gas by 2035 than Germany and Japan combined. Fracking involves injecting a mix of water, sand and chemicals into rock under high pressure; risks include groundwater contamination. Germany has had strict rules and broad bans since 2017.

The financial picture also remains open. VKTR reports that Blackstone has warned investors Anthropic may receive a junk credit rating after its IPO instead of the investment-grade rating it expected. The company is preparing to list on Nasdaq, possibly as soon as this month. Whether the gas purchase pays off depends on permits, fuel costs and utilization.

What it changes for businesses in the United States

For US companies that use Claude, the deal is not an immediate measure but a signal: anyone planning AI services over several years should tie availability not only to chips but also to electricity, permits and the supplier's financial strength. Dedicated generation could ease computing bottlenecks, but only once the units are built, permitted and running. Companies that report emissions should also check whether gas-powered inference flows into their Scope 3 accounting. And for long contracts, the IPO and the credit rating are worth watching.