Nscale, a London-based vertically integrated AI infrastructure company,is reportedly in talks to sell Anthropic US$ 44.6 billion in compute power at its Monarch data center campus in West Virginia.
This is the second deal the data center developer is negotiating with Anthropic, according to Bloomberg, who spoke with people familiar with the negotiations. The deal would back a second facility at the Monarch data center campus according to sources. It is reported that Anthropic already has agreements in place with Nscale for AI infrastructure.
As reported, the deal could be finalized in the coming days, but deliberations are said to be ongoing and details of the plan could be subject to change. Neither Nscale nor Anthropic has commented on the matter publicly.
The Monarch data center campus will have 1.35 GW of capacity in its first phase with the potential to grow to over 8 GW. The project is backed by a US$ 20 billion capital investment. Nscale is working with development partners NVIDIA and Caterpillar on the campus. Microsoft had originally been expected to lease the facility, but it walked away from the site shortly after signing a letter of intent.
A similar situation played out this week when Microsoft withdrew from Nscale’s AI data center project in Loughton, Essex. It cited concerns that electricity supply problems would delay the facility’s connection to the grid.
“We remain committed to both the Loughton project and the UK and we are exploring alternative power sources for the site, in addition to other expansion sites in the UK,” Nscale said in a statement following Microsoft’s departure.
In September, w.media reported that Nscale was preparing to launch its initial public offering. The company filed a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission but did not disclose the number of shares or the expected price range. Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley will serve as lead bookrunners for the offering. RBC Capital Markets, BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank Securities, Credit Agricole CIB, TD Securities, Mizuho, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Cantor, SMBC Nikko and Wolfe | Nomura Alliance will act as bookrunners.