Meta in Talks to Lease Computing Power to Anthropic in Potential $10 Billion Deal

Meta Platforms is in discussions with artificial intelligence company Anthropic over a potential agreement to provide computing capacity worth as much as $10 billion over two years, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The proposed deal could mark a significant move for Meta as it looks to expand its business beyond digital advertising and generate additional revenue from its extensive computing infrastructure.

Under the potential arrangement, Anthropic would make monthly payments to Meta over the two-year period. However, the terms remain subject to change, and both companies could have the option to end the agreement before the contract expires, the source said.

Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI assistant, proposed the deal in June, according to the source. Discussions are still at an early stage and may not result in a final agreement.

The talks have reportedly become more complicated because Meta does not currently operate a large commercial business focused on selling computing capacity to outside customers. The company has invested heavily in data centres and advanced computing systems to support its own artificial intelligence development, but expanding into cloud services would represent a new direction.

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Anthropic declined to comment.

News of the discussions came as Meta shares closed more than 2% lower on Friday amid a broader technology sector selloff. The stock recovered some of its losses in extended trading.

A deal with Anthropic would give Meta an opportunity to compete more directly with specialised cloud computing providers such as CoreWeave and Nebius. Demand for advanced AI applications has increased rapidly, creating a growing need for the powerful computing systems required to train and operate AI models.

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said at the company’s shareholder meeting in May that entering the cloud computing market was “definitely on the table”. He also said companies were approaching Meta regularly to seek access to its AI models or unused computing capacity.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that Meta was developing a cloud business that could sell excess computing capacity and provide hosting services for AI models created by developers.

The potential agreement with Anthropic would follow a similar arrangement involving Elon Musk’s SpaceX. Anthropic agreed in May to use the computing capacity of SpaceX’s Colossus 1 data centre in Memphis, Tennessee.

For Anthropic, securing additional computing resources would support the company’s expanding AI operations as it prepares for a potential initial public offering. For Meta, the discussions could offer a new source of revenue from investments in infrastructure that have so far largely supported its own AI ambitions.

However, with negotiations still in the early stages, there is no guarantee that the two companies will reach a final agreement.