Anthropic has agreed to spend about $11.6 billion on cloud services from Akamai over the next seven years as the AI company expands its computing capacity. Akamai announced the deal on September 24. The company said Anthropic will use its cloud infrastructure mainly for growing CPU workloads. The agreement is the largest deal in Akamai’s history.
The two companies already have a cloud services agreement. The new deal significantly expands that relationship and gives Anthropic access to dedicated computing capacity and related services.
The agreement could also become much larger. Anthropic has the option to increase its spending by up to another $9 billion, which would bring the potential value of the deal to around $20 billion.
Anthropic Expands Its Computing Capacity With Akamai
The agreement builds on an existing relationship between the two companies. Akamai and Anthropic signed their master services agreement in May 2026, with the latest project plans adding a much larger financial commitment.
Under the new agreement, Anthropic will use Akamai’s distributed cloud infrastructure for its growing CPU workloads. The company will receive dedicated computing capacity as well as managed support services.
The SEC filing shows that the two new project plans each have an initial seven-year term, starting from their respective service dates. The $11.6 billion commitment is subject to certain delivery and service-availability requirements. The agreement can also be terminated in certain situations, including some material service failures or breaches of the contract.
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Akamai Deal Could Reach $20 Billion if Anthropic Expands Spending
The initial commitment is not the maximum amount Anthropic could spend under the broader arrangement. Akamai said Anthropic can increase its cloud purchases by up to another $9 billion during the seven-year period.
Each additional $3 billion in cloud services would trigger another portion of a stock warrant issued to Anthropic. If the full expansion happens, the total potential commitment would reach roughly $20 billion.
The structure also gives Anthropic a potential financial interest in Akamai. The company issued Anthropic a warrant that can represent up to about 5% of Akamai’s outstanding common stock on an as-converted basis. About 2% is tied to the current $11.6 billion commitment, while the remaining portion depends on further spending.
Akamai Plans $5.5 Billion Infrastructure Investment
Akamai expects to spend about $5.5 billion on capital investments related to the Anthropic agreement. The company also plans to increase its 2026 capital spending by about $1.7 billion to secure components needed for the infrastructure, including memory.
Akamai said the additional spending is not expected to change its 2026 revenue guidance. The company plans to use the new infrastructure to support Anthropic as well as other customers running AI workloads on its cloud network.
Anthropic’s Growing CPU Workloads Drive New Cloud Deal
AI companies need large amounts of computing power to train and run their models. While GPUs are widely used for AI, CPUs are also important. They handle many general computing tasks, including data processing, software operations and other work needed to run AI services.
Akamai said the new agreement will mainly support Anthropic’s growing CPU workloads. The deal also gives Anthropic another major source of cloud capacity as it expands its AI products and services.
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Anthropic Agreement Marks Akamai’s Biggest Contract
The agreement is also important for Akamai because it is the largest contract in the company’s history. Akamai said it had already announced more than $2.8 billion in multi-year Cloud Infrastructure Services commitments across its customer base in 2026.
The Anthropic deal adds another major customer to that business and gives Akamai a long-term commitment that can support further investment in its cloud infrastructure. Akamai expects the agreement to start contributing to revenue as the new infrastructure becomes available.
Akamai Deal Shows the Scale of AI Infrastructure Demand
The deal highlights how much computing infrastructure is needed as AI companies expand. Anthropic has entered major infrastructure partnerships with several technology companies as it works to secure enough computing capacity for its models and services.
The Akamai agreement adds another long-term commitment to that strategy. However, the $11.6 billion figure is the current contractual commitment. The additional $9 billion is an option that depends on Anthropic making further purchases under the agreement.
The deal also shows that the AI infrastructure race is about more than GPUs. Companies need CPUs, memory, networking equipment, data centers and other systems to keep large AI services running.
For Anthropic, the agreement provides more cloud capacity. For Akamai, it creates a major long-term customer commitment while the company expands its cloud business.
