Deal Details
Nscale — an artificial intelligence (AI) cloud services provider and data center developer backed by Nvidia — is in talks with Anthropic, the AI lab behind the Claude large language model, over the sale of computing capacity. Bloomberg reported the story on October 19, citing people familiar with the talks. Reuters wrote that it could not independently confirm Bloomberg's report through its own sources.
The talks concern a second building at the Monarch data center campus in West Virginia. The deal could be worth about $45 billion. But this is not a done deal: according to Reuters, citing Bloomberg's reporting, negotiations are ongoing and details could change. In other words, the current information relies on sources at the negotiation stage — there has been no official announcement of a signed agreement.
These talks between Nscale and Anthropic follow the $45 billion August deal, in which Anthropic agreed to lease AI cloud computing capacity at Nscale's Monarch campus.
The Parties: Nscale, Anthropic, and Nvidia
Nscale is a company that rents out large volumes of computing capacity needed to train and serve AI systems, and a developer building data center campuses. The company is backed by Nvidia. The Monarch campus is located in West Virginia; both the August deal and the current talks concern this campus.
Anthropic is the AI lab that developed the Claude large language model. According to Bloomberg, the company is participating in the talks with Nscale as the buyer: the negotiations concern purchasing computing capacity in the Monarch campus's second building.
Nvidia is involved in the deal as a chip supplier: its Vera Rubin AI chips are planned for use in the second Monarch building. According to Reuters, citing Bloomberg's reporting, these chips will form the technical foundation of the second building's 460 megawatts of computing capacity.
The Monarch Campus: 460 Megawatts
The second Monarch building is planned to deliver 460 megawatts of computing capacity. The building will run on Nvidia's Vera Rubin AI chips. Under the contract terms, Anthropic will hold a "right of first refusal" on an expected third building at the campus — meaning that if the third building is constructed, the offer to lease it will first go to Anthropic. The building's planned delivery of 460 megawatts of capacity and its Vera Rubin-based operation make up the subject of the negotiations. The 460-megawatt figure and the "right of first refusal" condition constitute the main subject of the talks.
The First Deal in August
According to TechCrunch, if the current talks end in a deal, it will be the second $45 billion agreement. In August 2026, Anthropic signed a deal to spend $45 billion leasing AI cloud computing capacity at Nscale's Monarch campus in West Virginia. The announced values of both deals total about $90 billion. TechCrunch notes that the August deal concerned Nscale's campus in West Virginia — the new talks concern the second building of that same campus.
Microsoft's Exit and the Power Problem
The new talks began after Microsoft exited an agreement to support Nscale's main data center. According to Reuters, the reason was delays in connecting to the power grid: the expected delivery date was pushed into the 2030s.
Reuters writes that the power-grid connection delays pushed the main data center's expected delivery date into the 2030s — which is precisely what led Microsoft to exit the agreement.
Timeline: How the Story Spread
On October 19, Bloomberg was first to report the talks between Nscale and Anthropic, worth roughly $45 billion, citing people familiar with the negotiations. That same day, Reuters, citing Bloomberg's reporting, wrote that it could not independently confirm the story and that Nscale and Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment. TechCrunch noted the same day that, following the August deal, this could be the second $45 billion agreement.
Thus, the story was covered by three outlets in a single day: Bloomberg — as the first source, Reuters — noting the report was unconfirmed, TechCrunch — in the context of the August deal.
What Remains Unconfirmed
"Negotiations are ongoing, and details could change," Reuters wrote, citing Bloomberg.
Reuters could not independently confirm Bloomberg's report. Neither Nscale nor Anthropic responded to the outlet's requests for comment. So the second $45 billion agreement remains negotiation-stage information for now — there is no official confirmation of a signed deal. Because the talks are not finalized, the deal's final value and terms could change: Reuters specifically noted this, citing Bloomberg's reporting.
