The AI company Anthropic has proposed that Meta lease computing power worth up to $10 billion. This was reported by The New York Times, citing three sources.

The potential agreement is set for two years. According to the publication, Anthropic initiated the proposal in June, and Meta is currently considering it. The discussed format involves monthly payments. Both parties could exit the deal early, but final terms have yet to be finalized. The process is complicated by Meta's lack of an existing business for selling computing power.

Both companies declined to comment.

For Meta, this agreement would create a new revenue stream beyond advertising. The company could compete with cloud providers CoreWeave and Nebius, from which it currently leases computing power. In April, Meta signed a $21 billion deal with CoreWeave, and in March, it signed a $27 billion agreement with Nebius.

In May, Zuckerberg told investors that external firms regularly express interest in purchasing computing equipment from Meta. The corporation has not sold any yet, as it still needs the resources, but it is open to the possibility.

Investors have criticized Meta for its high spending on AI infrastructure, as highlighted by The New York Times. Selling excess capacity could help justify these investments. The company has acknowledged that it might build more data centers than necessary. Its capital expenditures in 2026 could reach $145 billion, more than double last year's $72 billion.

Meta is also strengthening its cloud team, with former Amazon Web Services executive Dave Brown already on board, according to CNBC.

Tech giants are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in data centers. The scale of spending has raised questions on Wall Street about its justification. Due to supply shortages, the cost of computing power has surged, noted Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Mandip Singh. The resource scarcity forces AI companies to negotiate even with competitors.

Demand for computing power at Anthropic is increasing amid the popularity of Claude Code. The startup previously struck a similar deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX, totaling $45 billion over three years—$1.25 billion per month. Under the agreement, Anthropic will utilize the Colossus 1 data center in Memphis.

In June, Meta also partnered with Reliance Industries to lease computing power in a new data center in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India.