Anthropic and Nscale are discussing a second deal worth about $45 billion for AI processing power. The news, based on a source familiar with the matter by Reuters, came after the electricity delay in Nscale’s UK project. Negotiations are ongoing and conditions may change, so there is no second contract completed.
New capacity on the agenda includes the second building of the Monarch campus in West Virginia. Reuters’ source mentions 460 megawatts of capacity with Nvidia Vera Rubin chips. It is reported that Anthropic also has the right to bid for the possible third building.
The second agreement distinction here is important. The companies reached a processing power agreement worth approximately $45 billion for the same campus in August. The new negotiation is not a re-announcement of that contract, but a separate process for additional capacity.
Monarch’s growth target does not mean ready capacity
Nscale’s official campus page describes Monarch’s first phase as a target of 1.35 gigawatts of AI processing capacity. The company targets delivery at the beginning of 2028 and plans a structure that can reach more than 8 gigawatts with a multi-stage expansion. These are company development goals, not measurements of operational capacity today.
The campus is being built from scratch in Mason County, West Virginia. Nscale states that it designed the power, cooling, connection and processing infrastructure together. In the project, Nvidia is involved in the processing infrastructure side and Caterpillar is involved in the electricity generation in the field. The company’s plan includes providing the campus’s electricity generation independently of the public grid.
In addition, Nscale announces that it plans to invest over 20 billion dollars in capital for the project. This figure and the $45 billion service agreement do not cover the same item. The first is the campus investment target, the second is the contract size for the customer to purchase processing power under certain conditions.
The Financial Times’ report also includes the second agreement negotiations. The newspaper reports that Anthropic pays when the capacity is delivered, and the ownership and operation of the facilities remain with Nscale. This structure shows that a high contract amount does not simultaneously mean cash revenue or a ready data center.
On the other hand, FT also points out that there are steps to be completed regarding the financing and permits of the first building. For this reason, the financing of the construction and the commissioning of the capacity on the promised date will be decisive as well as the new customer commitment.
For Claude users, this meeting does not bring about a new feature added to the application today or a subscription discount announced. The news is about the computing infrastructure that Anthropic aims to use in the future. The parties are expected to make an official statement regarding the price, schedule and exact scope of the second agreement.