AnthropicSep 7, 20263 mins read

Anthropic’s Reported $517B Compute Push Shows the AI Infrastructure Race Is Still Accelerating

Anthropic reportedly signed compute contracts worth up to $517 billion in eleven months, even after CEO Dario Amodei warned rivals about moving too fast. The push still trails OpenAI’s larger compute plan, while both companies face questions about whether revenue can keep pace with infrastructure commitments.

The Decoder

Anthropic reportedly signs $517 billion in compute deals after Dario Amodei warned rivals about reckless risk

OpenAI and Anthropic illustration used with the report on Anthropic's compute deals — Image credits:The Decoder

The headline number: up to $517 billion in compute contracts

Anthropic has reportedly signed compute contracts worth up to $517 billion over eleven months, according to The Information as cited in the article. Since October 2025, the company has locked in at least 14.8 gigawatts of computing power, on top of the one to two gigawatts it already had. Anthropic is also planning its own data centers, underscoring how central infrastructure has become to frontier AI competition.

Anthropic is still chasing OpenAI’s larger compute target

The report says Anthropic’s planned capacity likely remains below OpenAI’s 30-gigawatt target for 2030, though many Anthropic contracts extend beyond that date. That makes a direct comparison difficult, but the direction is clear: both companies are tying future AI progress to very large compute commitments. The Decoder’s OG summary also notes OpenAI’s broader $750 billion plan through 2030.

Revenue is growing, but commitments remain heavy

The article says neither Anthropic nor OpenAI can cover these commitments from revenue alone just yet. Anthropic’s annualized revenue topped $65 billion, according to Bloomberg as cited in the article, while OpenAI was above $40 billion as of July. For readers, the key takeaway is that the AI buildout is not just a technical race; it is also a financing and timing challenge.

Risk warnings now cut both ways

In early 2026, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned against investing too fast, saying competitors “don’t really understand the risks they’re taking.” Now Anthropic is described as racing to catch up. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, meanwhile, has warned about “unsustainable silliness” in the compute buildout, especially from neo-cloud providers, and argued that technical progress could make today’s expensive projects look like bad bets.