Meta in Talks to Lease $10 Billion in Computing Power to AI Firm Anthropic

Facebook's parent company, Meta, is in discussions to lease significant computing power to AI firm Anthropic. The proposed deal, valued at up to $10 billion over two years, would see Anthropic utilize Meta's data center resources.

The New York Times reported that Anthropic made the offer last month, and Meta is currently reviewing it. This development follows recent news of Meta's consideration to sell its excess computing capacity externally. The potential agreement includes monthly payments from Anthropic to Meta and allows for early contract termination if both parties agree.

This venture could address investor concerns about the return on Meta's substantial investments in AI infrastructure. CEO Mark Zuckerberg had previously mentioned the possibility of entering the cloud computing business during a May shareholder meeting. News of these preparations initially boosted Meta's stock, though some interpreted the move as a sign of an overheating AI infrastructure market, impacting semiconductor stocks.

Meta is also strengthening its team for this expansion, reportedly planning to hire Dave Brown, a vice president from Amazon Web Services, to lead its data center business development. The negotiations are in their early stages, and a final agreement has not yet been reached.