Meta Platforms (META) is in focus on Friday following a report that the company is in early-stage discussions with Anthropic to lease computing power from its AI data centers in a deal potentially worth up to $10 billion over two years.
Anthropic reportedly proposed the arrangement in June, with payments structured as monthly installments and both parties retaining the option to exit early. The negotiations remain fluid and may not result in a finalized agreement.
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At the time of writing, Meta stock is hovering around the same price at which it started 2026.
Why Anthropic Wants to Buy Compute Power From Meta?
The potential deal represents about one-third the size of Anthropic’s existing three-year, $45 billion compute agreement with Elon Musk’s SpaceX (SPCX), signed in May.
Anthropic has experienced surging demand following the release of its enterprise product Claude Code, making access to additional computing capacity critical for serving its growing client base.
Securing sufficient Nvidia (NVDA) chips remains a bottleneck for artificial intelligence developers, which explains why Anthropic is pursuing arrangements with multiple tech firms to expand capacity.
Significance of the Anthropic Deal for Meta Platforms
For Meta, this deal would mark a significant strategic milestone by opening a new line of business in cloud computing.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly indicated that companies approach Meta weekly seeking to purchase computing power at a premium, and he acknowledged that selling excess capacity could generate returns if the company overbuilds infrastructure.
META plans to spend between $125 billion and $145 billion on capital expenditures in 2026, more than double the $72 billion spent last year, with the vast majority directed toward AI.
The company has faced persistent investor questions about whether its artificial intelligence models can compete with those from rivals like Anthropic and OpenAI, and whether its huge data center investments can generate adequate returns.
Why Cloud Business Is Particularly Bullish for META Shares
