Anthropic and Meta discuss $10 billion compute lease

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence startup, is in very early discussions to lease computing power from Meta in a potential deal valued at up to $10 billion over two years, according to reports. The talks, which were first reported on Friday, July 17, 2026, indicate a significant strategic shift for both companies as they navigate a severe industry-wide shortage of advanced AI chips.

The discussions are described as preliminary and may not result in a final agreement. According to people familiar with the confidential negotiations, Anthropic initiated the proposal in June, and Meta is currently evaluating it. If an agreement is reached, Anthropic would make regular monthly payments to Meta across the two-year span, and either party would retain the right to terminate the arrangement early. Both companies declined to comment on the reports.

For Anthropic, which is approaching a $1 trillion valuation, the deal represents a continued effort to secure the massive computing capacity, or compute, required to train and operate its Claude AI models. Access to Nvidia's advanced GPUs remains a critical bottleneck, forcing the company to place usage limits on its most powerful models....