Anthropic Commits $3.4 Billion to Gas-Powered AI Capacity

By Daniel Okafor

Anthropic is committing $3.4 billion to 1.7 gigawatts of heavy-duty natural-gas generators, in what the Financial Times called the largest direct investment in power generation equipment by an AI company.

In a late-September short memo, Piper Sandler said it had served as financial advisor to San Antonio-based equipment supplier OnePWR Solutions. The bank described the $3.4 billion sale of OnePWR’s power generation platform to a “frontier AI lab.” The Financial Times later identified Anthropic as the buyer.

What does Anthropic’s generator deal cover?

According to the Financial Times, Anthropic assumed generator commitments OnePWR had previously made with Caterpillar, while the package also included engineering and construction capabilities needed to install the equipment. The generators are expected to become available within the next two years, the Financial Times reported.

Anthropic and OnePWR Solutions did not immediately respond to Fortune’s request for comment.

What does the IPO filing disclose?

Anthropic filed its S-1 with the SEC in September and an amended filing in November. The amended S-1 disclosed approximately $900.9 billion in aggregate committed spending on computing and infrastructure, including purchase commitments and lease agreements.

About $451.6 billion is expected to be spent before 2030, with most of the remaining commitments extending through 2045. Another $70.7 billion falls due within the 12 months following Sept. 30, according to the amended S-1.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Anthropic is seeking a $1.3 trillion valuation. The IPO would sell 825 million shares at a range of $70 to $78 each.

The S-1 also identifies gas-powered data centers as a concern. Anthropic warned that its dependence on natural gas could put the data center buildout at risk of volatile prices.

“As data center operators increasingly rely on natural gas-fired generation, and because behind-the-meter and on-site arrangements are feasible only in some jurisdictions given the applicable regulatory frameworks, we expect increased competition among users for the same natural gas supply and pipeline capacity in those areas,”

Anthropic’s filing said.

Why has power become an AI constraint?

Anthropic’s infrastructure strategy spans Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Nvidia and AMD, according to the S-1. The filing also describes “Anthropic Direct,” which allows Anthropic to lease chips directly and place them in dedicated data centers on its behalf.

The structure separates its “commitments for data center capacity” from its “commitments for the compute infrastructure deployed inside them.” It lets the company secure capacity before its accelerator requirements become certain.

“Because data centers require longer lead times but represent a smaller fraction of total compute costs,” the S-1 reads, “this approach enables us to secure data center capacity early while deferring larger accelerator investments until our specific compute needs are more certain.”

Power hardware creates another bottleneck. The filing says transformers, turbines, generators, substations and other electrical equipment can take years to procure as manufacturers face higher prices, tariffs and limited production capacity.

The S-1 also says Anthropic may need to buy long-lead-time power generation at prices above market rates. Some planned data center facilities rely on dedicated natural-gas-fired generation, exposing the company to fluctuations in fuel lines, pipeline capacity constraints and disruptions to natural-gas supplies.

How are rivals securing electricity?\n

• Reuters reported that Alphabet acquired energy developer Intersect Power for $4.75 billion in December 2025. Intersect had worked with Google to colocate data centers with new electricity generation, giving Google greater control over bringing new power online.

Fortune reported that Elon Musk’s xAI turned to natural-gas turbines for its Colossus data centers in Tennessee and Mississippi after existing grid connections could not provide sufficient power.

The Milken Institute reported that Meta pursued on-site natural-gas generation for its Ohio data center campus with Williams. The energy-generation equipment project is worth approximately $1.6 billion.

Constellation Energy announced a 20-year agreement with Microsoft in September 2024 to purchase electricity from the Three Mile Island nuclear facility in Pennsylvania. Constellation valued the agreement at $16 billion.

Amazon pursued data center energy capacity through an agreement with Talen Energy, according to Talen Energy. The nuclear-powered data center campus sits adjacent to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.

“We’re making the largest private sector investment in state history–$20 billion–to bring 1,250 high-skilled jobs and economic benefits to the state, while also collaborating with Talen Energy to help power our infrastructure with carbon-free energy,”

AWS Vice President of Global Data Centers Kevin Miller said in the Talen Energy press release at the time.

The comparisons shift the AI infrastructure constraint from chips alone to control over electricity. For Anthropic, delivery becomes the next test under a $900.9 billion infrastructure commitment, with gas generators expected within two years and fuel volatility disclosed as a risk in the IPO filing.