Banks are in discussions to provide a $15 billion loan for a data center project involving artificial intelligence startup Anthropic, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. The facility is backed by technology giant Google.
Morgan Stanley is acting as the lead banker in advanced talks to lend the funds to Nexus Data Centers. CNBC confirmed on Thursday that the financial institution is leading the negotiations for the loan.
The data center campus is planned for construction in Hubbard, Texas. The project includes a natural-gas-fired power plant capable of producing 1.6 gigawatts of electricity.
Google’s financial backing
Google has agreed to backstop Anthropic with its investment-grade credit rating. Reports describe this support as a guarantee of lease and power-payment commitments if the startup defaults.
The guarantees are said to cover four data-center leases signed by Anthropic and related power-purchase agreements for electricity from an on-site plant. Google’s backing was reportedly limited to the minimum level required by lenders to complete the financing.
In return for its support, Google is expected to receive an equity stake of about 20 percent in the data-center and power project. The financing package includes a $14 billion bridge loan and a revolving credit facility.
Infrastructure and hardware plans
Anthropic plans to equip the site with tensor processing units (TPUs), chips co-designed by Google and Broadcom. These chips would be funded through a separate vendor-financing agreement between Anthropic and Broadcom.
Anthropic has been engaging with infrastructure partners including Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), SpaceX, Google, and Broadcom.
History of investment
Google invested $300 million in Anthropic in 2023 for a stake of about 10 percent. The tech giant invested another $2 billion in the startup months later. In April 2024, Google agreed to invest up to $40 billion in Anthropic.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the current deal. Anthropic and Nexus Data Centers declined to comment; Google and Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.