Nscale Anthropic Deal Advances on Second $45 Billion AI Compute Agreement

Nscale, the Nvidia-backed UK AI infrastructure company, is in advanced talks with Anthropic for a second agreement worth roughly $45 billion. The proposed deal would secure additional capacity at the Monarch Compute Campus in Mason County, West Virginia, following the first agreement signed in August 2026.

Details of the Proposed Second Agreement

The second agreement under discussion would cover a second building at the Monarch site with approximately 460 MW of capacity. It would rely on Nvidia Vera Rubin AI chips, with systems expected to come online in late 2027. Anthropic would also receive a potential right of first refusal on a planned third building at the same location. Reports from October 19 and 20, 2026, indicate that talks remain ongoing and a final agreement could be reached within days, though specific terms may still shift.

The first agreement, reached in August 2026, committed Anthropic to spending up to $44.6 billion over six years for an initial 460 MW tranche at the same campus. That contract forms part of Nscale’s rapid backlog growth from roughly $100 million to more than $103 billion in just two and a half years. Anthropic and Microsoft together account for the bulk of that backlog, with figures of $44.6 billion and $43.8 billion respectively according to Nscale’s public filings.

Both companies have kept official confirmation limited. All reported figures originate from sources familiar with the discussions, and existing contracts include financing conditions, delivery milestones, and performance requirements. Nscale filed for a NYSE IPO under the ticker NSCL on September 18, 2026, with investors reportedly pressing for a valuation between $16 billion and $19 billion rather than the targeted $30 billion.

Background on the Monarch Compute Campus

Nscale acquired the 2,250-acre Monarch site in March 2026. Phase 1 targets between 1.35 GW and 2 GW of capacity, with long-term scalability outlined to exceed 8 GW. The campus includes an on-site natural gas microgrid powered by Caterpillar G3500 generators. First-phase operations are scheduled to begin in the first half of 2028. Microsoft has already contracted for 1.35 GW at the same location.

The site forms a central element of Nscale’s expansion strategy in the United States. The company’s contract value has expanded sharply as demand for dedicated AI compute rises. Anthropic’s aggressive infrastructure build-out supports its own product roadmap and potential future public listing. Multiple additional large-scale deals involving Anthropic have surfaced in recent months, though none have reached the scale of the two Nscale agreements now under discussion.

Practical impact for enterprise users centers on supply predictability. Additional capacity at Monarch could ease allocation pressure for Anthropic’s Claude models and related services. Enterprises that rely on those models may see improved availability windows once the Vera Rubin systems reach production. The presence of both Microsoft and Anthropic at a single campus also signals growing clustering of major AI workloads in West Virginia.

Market Context and Next Steps

Investor caution around AI infrastructure valuations has surfaced in recent weeks, particularly for companies preparing public listings. Nscale’s filing highlights both the scale of committed revenue and the execution risks tied to power delivery and chip availability. Anthropic continues to expand its compute footprint across several providers to support training and inference growth ahead of any potential IPO.

Readers evaluating exposure to AI infrastructure should monitor final contract terms once announced. Key variables include milestone payments, performance guarantees, and any adjustments to the 460 MW scope. The earlier agreement details provide a useful baseline for comparing the two packages. Delivery of the first Vera Rubin systems remains targeted for late 2027, with broader campus operations scheduled for early 2028.