The key facts

  • Anthropic is buying Caterpillar generators for $3.4 billion with a capacity of up to 1.7 GW, originally ordered by supplier OnePWR
  • The company previously paid xAI $1.25 billion per month for rented computing capacity under a contract running until May 2029
  • The purchase reflects a broader trend: Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta are building their own gas power plants for data centers

A strategy shift driven by energy scarcity

Anthropic, which until now avoided buying physical infrastructure, is spending $3.4 billion on turbines for natural gas power generation. As TechCrunch reports, citing a Financial Times investigation, the company is buying Caterpillar generators that equipment supplier OnePWR had originally ordered for itself but could not secure financing to complete the deal. Their combined capacity reaches 1.7 gigawatts.

From renting to owning

Historically, Anthropic preferred renting computing capacity rather than owning it: in its S-1 filing in May, the company disclosed that it pays SpaceX subsidiary xAI $1.25 billion per month until May 2029 for access to computing power and stated its intention to enter into similar contracts going forward. The turbine purchase looks like a change of course. TechCrunch links it to growing uncertainty in the energy market: the queue for gas turbines stretches into the early 2030s, and the wait for grid connection is comparable in length. Why OnePWR failed to obtain financing, despite Anthropic's interest as a customer, is not specified; the outlet suggests that Anthropic wanted to keep the generating capacity for itself rather than risk a competitor buying it up.

Part of an industry-wide trend

The deal fits into a broader picture: Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta have already announced the construction of large gas power plants to feed their own data centers, bypassing the public grid. According to TechCrunch, this boom has given fracking a 'second wind,' and if construction continues as planned, by 2035 US data centers alone could consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined. Dependence on gas also carries financial risk: one analyst expects prices in some regions to more than triple by the end of the decade — in which case, as the outlet notes, Anthropic may deeply regret the purchase.