Nscale and Anthropic in Talks on Second $45bn Deal

Nscale is in talks to sell Anthropic artificial intelligence computing power in a new deal that could be worth about $45 billion, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the negotiations. If agreed, it would roughly double what the Claude maker has already committed to the Nvidia-backed data centre developer, at a moment when investors are questioning how much money is pouring into AI infrastructure.

The story is about more than one contract. Both companies are preparing to go public, and a second deal of this size would make Anthropic an even larger share of Nscale’s future business, just as its IPO valuation is under pressure. Neither company has confirmed the talks.

In brief

Nscale is reportedly in talks to sell Anthropic computing power in a deal that could be worth about $45bn, for a second building at its Monarch campus in West Virginia.
Anthropic already has agreements with Nscale worth as much as about $44.6bn, according to Bloomberg, so a new deal would make it an even bigger customer ahead of both firms’ planned IPOs.
Neither company has commented, and a Reuters source says the details of the plan could change.

A second building at Monarch

According to Bloomberg, Nscale is seeking a second major deal with Anthropic for a second facility at its Monarch data centre campus in West Virginia. Reuters, citing one person familiar with the matter, added detail. That second Monarch building “would deliver 460 megawatts of computing power using Nvidia’s advanced Vera Rubin AI chips”, the person said.

The same source said Anthropic “also has the right of first refusal on Monarch’s expected third building”. That would give it first claim on capacity there before other customers. The person cautioned that “discussions were ongoing and details of the plan could change”.

The new talks build on an existing relationship. Anthropic has agreements in place with Nscale for infrastructure worth “as much as about $44.6 billion”, Bloomberg reported, citing a regulatory filing for Nscale’s planned initial public offering. Anthropic did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment, and TechCrunch said it had contacted both companies.

Figure	Amount	Reported by
Possible new deal	About $45bn	Bloomberg; Reuters source
Existing Anthropic agreements	Up to about $44.6bn	Bloomberg, citing IPO filing
Second Monarch building	460MW	Reuters source
Nscale total contracted value	More than $103bn	Reuters

Source: Bloomberg and Reuters, 19 October 2026. None of these figures has been confirmed by Nscale or Anthropic.

Why the timing matters for both IPOs

The talks come as both companies head towards the public markets. According to TechCrunch, Bloomberg separately reported that Nscale faces investor pushback over its proposed IPO valuation of $30 billion. Reuters said Bloomberg also reported that a group of investors had urged Anthropic to lower its own IPO valuation target after a series of market setbacks for AI companies.

That backdrop explains why a deal of this size is significant. Reuters reported that Nscale has grown its total contracted value “from $100 million to more than $103 billion in two-and-a-half years”, competing with Nebius, Crusoe and Lambda. According to Nscale’s prospectus, as described by Reuters, Microsoft and Anthropic are expected to be its major customers.

The catch is that Nscale’s customer base has recently looked less settled. Reuters noted that Microsoft pulled out of a deal to anchor a flagship Nscale data centre after power connection delays pushed its expected supply date into the 2030s, a setback TSN covered at the weekend. Bloomberg has also reported delays at Nscale’s Glomfjord site in Norway.

Investors are watching AI debt closely

The wider market is nervous about how AI infrastructure is paid for. Reuters said investors have sharpened their scrutiny of companies relying on debt to fund data centre expansion. Last week, shares in Nscale rival CoreWeave slumped amid concerns over its $50 billion debt load, feeding a global sell-off in AI stocks, according to Reuters.

For Anthropic, the talks fit a pattern of very large compute commitments as it scales up Claude. TSN has previously reported on its unannounced multiyear cloud deal with IREN, as reported by The Information, and on the $16.8 billion in third-quarter revenue it reportedly told investors about. Its spending on computing power is the other side of that growth.

What is not known matters as much as what is. The reports do not give the length of the possible contract, when capacity would come online or how payments would be structured. Nscale and Anthropic have not commented publicly.

Our read

This is TSN’s analysis. A second deal of about $45 billion would make Anthropic central to Nscale’s IPO pitch, which could help it answer investors who are pushing back on its valuation. The flip side is concentration: the more of Nscale’s contracted value rests on one AI lab, the more its prospects depend on that customer’s growth. Until either company confirms terms, this remains a reported negotiation, not a signed contract.

The next signal could come from Nscale’s IPO paperwork or from either company confirming the talks. Until then, the open question is whether a second Monarch deal is signed, and on what terms.