Key Highlights Discussions between Meta and Anthropic involve a potential compute agreement valued at up to $10 billion spanning two years The proposal originated from Anthropic in June; Meta
According to a July 17 New York Times report citing three informed sources, Meta and Anthropic have entered preliminary negotiations for a computing services agreement potentially reaching $10 billion over a 24-month period.
META IS REPORTEDLY IN TALKS TO RENT AI COMPUTING POWER TO ANTHROPIC IN A DEAL WORTH UP TO $10B OVER TWO YEARS
Anthropic proposed the deal in June and Meta is considering it, per the NYT, citing three people with knowledge of the talks. Payments would run in monthly increments… pic.twitter.com/GvmpkRXe9v
— WOLF (@WOLF_Financial) July 17, 2026
Sources indicate that Anthropic initiated the proposal in June. The framework under consideration would involve Anthropic making regular monthly payments to Meta throughout the two-year term, with flexibility for either organization to withdraw from the arrangement prematurely. Representatives from both companies have refused to provide commentary.
CNN corroborated the ongoing negotiations, though a source cautioned that the specific financial figures circulating in media reports might be conjectural. CNBC separately verified the existence of these discussions through its own reporting.
Following the news, Meta’s share price dropped by as much as 6% on July 17, though the stock recovered somewhat to finish the trading day down approximately 2%.
For Anthropic, securing adequate computing resources has emerged as a critical obstacle throughout 2026. The AI company has implemented restrictions on usage of its most sophisticated models, such as Claude Fable, as its processing infrastructure has struggled to meet surging user demand.
In May, Anthropic secured a substantial $45 billion, three-year computing services contract with SpaceX, providing access to the Colossus 1 facility located in Memphis. An additional partnership with Meta would significantly expand Anthropic’s GPU resource availability.
The company is simultaneously preparing for its initial public offering, with Reuters indicating that investment bankers are organizing prospective investor presentations in advance of a potential October market debut. Securing multiple computing partnerships prior to the IPO would bolster Anthropic’s investment narrative.
For Meta, these negotiations represent the first public indication of the company’s strategy to commercialize its computing infrastructure for external clients. The initiative is internally referred to as “Meta Compute.”
CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated in May that Meta was exploring cloud computing services as a mechanism to demonstrate to shareholders that its artificial intelligence investments could generate revenue streams beyond its core advertising business.
Meta is projected to invest as much as $145 billion in capital expenditures during 2026, representing more than a twofold increase from the $72 billion deployed in 2025. The overwhelming majority of this investment is dedicated to AI hardware acquisition and data center construction.
In May, the company eliminated 8,000 positions while simultaneously reallocating financial resources toward its AI infrastructure expansion. Meta also brought aboard Dave Brown, a former senior executive from Amazon Web Services, demonstrating that its cloud computing aspirations extend well beyond any individual partnership.
Meta currently leases computing capacity from multiple providers, including a $21 billion arrangement with CoreWeave and a $27 billion contract with Nebius.
The unconventional aspect of a potential Meta-Anthropic partnership stems from the fact that Meta develops its proprietary Llama AI models, which directly compete with Anthropic’s Claude offerings. A computing lease agreement would position Meta simultaneously as both a competitive rival and an infrastructure supplier to Anthropic.
This paradoxical relationship already exists within the industry. SpaceX provides GPU resources to both Anthropic and Google. In today’s constrained computing market, companies controlling capacity are monetizing it by serving any client requiring resources, irrespective of competitive dynamics.
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