A data-center operator that is two and a half years old is negotiating a second compute contract worth about $45 billion with one of the best-known AI labs. In the same week, one of its anchor customers walked away from another project, and investors were busy asking who exactly pays for all this concrete. Welcome to AI infrastructure in late 2026.
The deal on the table
Nscale is in talks with Anthropic to supply roughly $45 billion of computing capacity, according to a person familiar with the matter. The plan is a second facility on the Monarch campus in West Virginia.
This would follow an August agreement between the two companies, also for a similar sum, covering the rental of compute. Anthropic additionally holds a right of first refusal on a third future building on the same campus.
The new building is described as delivering 460 MW of power, using Nvidia Vera Rubin AI chips. The talks are still going, and the terms may change. Nothing here is signed, so treat the $45 billion as a negotiating position rather than a receipt.
Nscale's uneven week
The company's growth curve is the sort that makes spreadsheets blush. Since launch, about two and a half years ago, Nscale has raised the combined value of its contracted projects from $100 million to more than $103 billion. Its competitors include Nebius, Crusoe and Lambda.
But there is a catch with building at that speed: the grid does not move at that speed. Microsoft pulled out of a deal to host Nscale's key data center after delays in connecting electricity pushed the expected date for power into the 2030s. The report does not say this project is the Monarch campus, so it would be unwise to assume the two stories are linked.
It is a useful reminder of the real bottleneck. Chips can be ordered, and contracts can be drafted over a long weekend. A utility connection has its own calendar, and it does not read press releases.
The mood among investors
The talks come as investors look harder at what AI infrastructure costs and how much debt the builders carry. Last week, shares of CoreWeave, a competitor of Nscale, fell on worries about $50 billion of debt, adding to a sell-off across AI-related stocks.
A separate report says investors have also urged Anthropic to lower its target valuation ahead of a possible IPO, following a run of setbacks in the AI market. The sources give no detail on what those setbacks were, so neither will this article.
What we know and what we don't
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Second Monarch facility, about $45 billion | In negotiation, terms may change |
| August compute rental agreement, similar sum | Already concluded |
| Third Monarch building | Anthropic holds a right of first refusal |
| New building capacity | 460 MW, Nvidia Vera Rubin chips |
| Microsoft and Nscale's key data center | Microsoft has exited, power delayed into the 2030s |
The sources do not give a timeline for the talks, financing details for the new building, or any comment from either company.
The takeaway
The interesting tension is not between Anthropic and Nscale, who appear to like each other quite a lot. It is between the size of the commitments and the patience of the people funding them. A $100 million order book became a $103 billion one in under three years, and in that time the market's question shifted from "can you build it" to "who is carrying the debt."
In this business, the most expensive item on the bill of materials may turn out to be a power line that arrives in 2030-something.