Anthropic Buys $3.4B in Gas Turbines as AI Power Crunch Bites

Anthropic is spending $3.4 billion on natural gas turbines — up to 1.7 gigawatts of Caterpillar generating capacity — because the queue for power has grown almost as long as the queue for compute.

According to a Financial Times report, the AI company is buying generators that equipment supplier OnePWR originally ordered. OnePWR placed the order a couple of years ago but couldn't find financing to complete the purchase. Anthropic had planned to buy the turbines from OnePWR. Instead, it went straight to Caterpillar, the manufacturer.

Why did OnePWR fail to secure financing despite having Anthropic apparently interested as a customer? That's not clear. Whatever the reason, Anthropic likely wanted that generating capacity for itself rather than risk a competitor snapping it up.

Why would a renter suddenly buy?

The purchase marks a sharp break from how Anthropic has operated. Historically, the company has preferred renting to owning physical infrastructure. Its S-1 filing in May laid out the scale of that approach: Anthropic is paying SpaceX subsidiary xAI $1.25 billion per month through May 2029 to use xAI's computing power.

"We expect to enter into additional similar services contracts," Anthropic stated in the filing — meaning more deals to rent compute, not less.

But demand for compute keeps ramping up, and the market for power behind it has grown increasingly uncertain. The backlog for natural gas turbines stretches into the early 2030s. Queues to connect to the electrical grid can run just as long.

Anthropic's purchase looks like a last resort.

Is Anthropic alone in the gas binge?

No. AI companies have been ramping up purchases of natural gas equipment and supplies for years. Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta have all announced plans to build massive natural gas plants to power their data centers on site, rather than drawing from the public grid.

The spending has given a second wind to fracking — the drilling method used to extract natural gas from underground rock. If the buildout proceeds as planned, U.S. data centers alone could consume more natural gas than Germany and Japan combined by 2035.

What could go wrong?

Price. The reliance on natural gas exposes hyperscalers to market swings. One analyst expects prices could more than triple by the end of the decade in some markets. If that happens, Anthropic might have a serious case of buyer's remorse.

The timing adds another layer. Anthropic is planning to go public this year, and its S-1 already reveals a striking dependency: a $1.25 billion monthly check to xAI running through May 2029. Locking in 1.7 gigawatts of its own capacity reduces exposure to grid queues and turbine backlogs — but swaps one dependency for another, tying the company's future to the price of a fossil fuel whose market its own industry is now straining.

If gas prices triple by decade's end as some analysts predict, the buyers of 2025 may find they paid a premium for certainty.