Anthropic commits $11.6 billion to Akamai for cloud computing power

Anthropic has agreed to spend $11.6 billion over seven years on cloud infrastructure from Akamai, a deal that could eventually grow to about $20 billion. The agreement centers on CPU computing power rather than the specialized chips typically used for AI model training.

In an unusual twist, Akamai is offering Anthropic the opportunity to earn up to a 5% stake in Akamai's stock, with the potential ownership increasing as Anthropic's spending with the company rises.

The deal reflects the massive infrastructure investments AI companies are making to support their growing computing needs as they develop and run increasingly powerful models.