Anthropic in talks with Nscale over second $45bn AI data centre deal

Anthropic is in talks with British neocloud provider Nscale for a second AI data centre deal worth around $45bn, according to CNBC and Bloomberg.

Bloomberg first reported the negotiations on 19 October, citing people familiar with the matter, who cautioned that talks are still under way, details could change, and a deal could be signed within days. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC on 20 October the agreement would cover a second 460-megawatt data centre at the same Monarch campus in West Virginia as the first deal. Anthropic declined to comment.

The new building would supply 460 megawatts of capacity built around Nvidia’s Vera Rubin chips, and Anthropic would also hold a right of first refusal on a planned third building at Monarch.

It would mirror the August agreement, when Anthropic committed to infrastructure worth as much as $44.6bn under Nscale’s IPO filing — about 460 megawatts over six years, with the facility expected online at the end of 2027. Nscale said in the filing it has not yet secured financing for that first contract, and would also need funding for the chips in the new deal.

Microsoft and Anthropic together account for 85% of Nscale’s $103bn total contract value, the filing showed.

The talks come days after Microsoft withdrew from a planned Nscale data centre in Loughton, England, over delays connecting to the UK power grid — reported by The Telegraph and covered by Flip News on 20 October. Nscale said it remains committed to that project and is exploring alternative power sources.

[Sources: CNBC, 20 Oct 2026 (https://biztoc.com/x/761ae8dc398cc716); Bloomberg, 19 Oct 2026, via WebProNews (https://www.webpronews.com/nscale-and-anthropic-in-talks-for-another-45-billion-ai-compute-deal/); The Motley Fool, 20 Oct 2026 (https://www.fool.com/investing/2026/10/20/anthropic-is-in-talks-for-another-45-billion-ai-deal-nvidia-could-be-a-big-winner/)]