Banks in talks to lend $15 billion for Anthropic data center backed by Google: WSJ

Data-center developer Nexus Data Centers is in advanced ​talks to raise $15 billion ​for a Texas campus tied to Anthropic, with ​Alphabet's Google offering financial guarantees and supplying chips, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Big Tech has ‌been pouring ⁠billions of ⁠dollars into AI data centers and computing power as demand continues ​to outstrip supply.

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A bank group led by Morgan ​Stanley is discussing financing for the project in Hubbard, Texas, which includes a natural-gas-fired power plant capable of producing 1.6 ​gigawatts of electricity, the report said.

⁠Google has ‌agreed to guarantee billions of dollars of ​Anthropic's lease ​and power-payment commitments if the startup defaults, ⁠according to WSJ. The tech giant's backing was ​limited to the minimum level required by lenders ​to complete the financing.

The guarantees cover four data-center leases signed by Anthropic and related power-purchase agreements for electricity from an on-site plant, the Journal said.

The financing package includes a $14 billion bridge loan and a revolving credit ‌facility, the newspaper reported. In return for its support, Google is expected to receive an equity ​stake of ​about 20% in ⁠the data-center and power project.

Anthropic plans to equip the site with tensor processing units, chips co-designed by Google and Broadcom, according to the report. Those chips would be funded through a separate vendor-financing agreement between Anthropic and Broadcom.

Anthropic declined to comment when contacted by Reuters, while Google and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond.