Meta Platforms is in early-stage talks to lease data center compute power to AI startup Anthropic in a deal possibly worth up to $10 billion over two years [1, 2, 3, 4]. The negotiations involve Anthropic paying Meta monthly installments under a two-year contract, with options for early termination by either company [2, 4].
Currently, Meta does not rent out cloud compute capacity, making these talks a significant shift in business strategy [2, 4]. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged in May 2026 that entering the cloud compute leasing market is under serious consideration, saying, "We have companies regularly asking if we have compute that they could buy from us at some premium to what we've bought it at" [1]. He also said Meta receives weekly requests to access available AI compute resources [4].
Meta is investing heavily in AI infrastructure, projecting capital expenditures as high as $145 billion in 2026, including major spending on cloud and data centers [1, 3]. The company is also recruiting Dave Brown, a former Amazon AWS executive, to lead its growing cloud and AI infrastructure efforts [1, 2, 4].
Anthropic previously finalized a $45 billion, three-year deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX in May 2026 to use SpaceX's Colossus 1 data center compute power [1, 2, 3, 4]. The startup proposed the Meta collaboration amid its initial public offering preparations in June 2026 [2, 4].
The earliest public reports about Meta and Anthropic's potential deal emerged in July 2026, emphasizing the possible $10 billion, two-year scope [1, 3, 4]. Under the current discussions, the deal would require Meta to navigate leasing out compute capacity for the first time, a potentially complex adjustment given its prior focus on internal use [2, 4].
Meta’s next step is to finalize contract terms and leadership appointments for its new infrastructure initiative as it seeks to expand into cloud compute leasing.
