In large deals related to artificial intelligence infrastructure, eyes often turn to graphics processors. Akamai and Anthropic’s new contract central processor capacity highlights the demand. According to Akamai’s statement dated September 24, Anthropic has committed to a $11.6 billion contract to use the company’s distributed cloud infrastructure for seven years. The data center visual in the news was prepared as a representation.
The figure is not the cash entering Akamai’s coffers today. Contract value spanning the period during which services will be provided. The parties will continue their relations in the future 9 billion more dollars can expand; The total of approximately $20 billion in the press release is also based on this possibility. Additional expansion should not be read as a final order.
The striking aspect of the agreement is the type of hardware used. Although Anthropic’s AI models are trained on GPUs, an entire service does not run on the GPU. Meeting requests, application layer, network tasks and various support processes also require central processor capacity. Akamai said Anthropic’s growth CPU workloads It says it will support it with its own cloud infrastructure; It does not provide details about which applications will be distributed to which regions.
This growth has a serious initial cost for Akamai. The company estimates the total capital expenditure associated with the contract to be approximately $5.5 billion estimates as. $1.7 billion of this could be done by 2026 to pre-procure critical components, including memory. Still, the company does not expect the new agreement to change its 2026 revenue forecast. These two pieces of information show the time difference between spending and income.
How will the share purchase right granted to Anthropic work?
Akamai also granted Anthropic the right to purchase non-voting convertible preferred shares. If this right is fully exercised, it could correspond to approximately 5 percent of Akamai’s current number of shares. Separate conditions are foreseen for approximately 2 percent of the rights associated with today’s part of the contract, and additional cloud purchases are foreseen for the remaining part. This doesn’t mean Anthropic has a direct 5 percent share today.
In the company’s investor presentation, it appears that the start of the service is expected towards the end of the second quarter of 2027. The same plan estimates 2027 revenue in the range of $150 million to $300 million; The full annual revenue rate is aimed to be reached by the end of 2028. These are forward-looking company forecasts and depend on capacity installation and supply schedule.
Akamai is a company whose network spreads to different parts of the world. This structure can help deliver applications closer to the user; However, delay or cost savings cannot be calculated without explaining which Anthropic service will run where. The agreement is a concrete example showing that in the artificial intelligence race, the software and infrastructure that operates the model is as costly as developing the model.
There are two separate metrics to watch in the coming period: whether Anthropic will actually purchase the additional $9 billion of capacity and whether Akamai will establish and convert its $5.5 billion investment plan into service on time. A seven-year contract size alone does not guarantee profitability or uninterrupted income.