> Banks in Talks to Lend $15 Billion for Anthropic Data Center Backed by Google

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A data-center developer working with Anthropic is in advanced talks to borrow $15 billion to build a massive new campus and power plant in Texas, with Google providing financial guarantees and chips, according to people familiar with the matter.

Under the deal being discussed, a consortium of banks led by Morgan Stanley would lend $15 billion to Nexus Data Centers to build the campus in Hubbard, Texas, which would have its own natural-gas power plant capable of generating 1.6 gigawatts of electricity. The deal could be announced as soon as today.

To help Nexus raise the debt, Google has provided guarantees for billions of dollars of Anthropic’s lease and power-payment obligations in the event the startup defaults, according to people familiar with the matter. Google’s support was limited and covered the minimum amount the banks required to get the financing done, one of those people said.

The guarantees cover four data-center leases Anthropic has signed, along with the corresponding power-purchase agreements, which will draw from a so-called behind-the-meter power plant that will support the campus.

Anthropic plans to fill the site with tensor processing units, the chip Google codesigns with Broadcom. The chips will be financed through a separate vendor-financing deal Anthropic struck with Broadcom, some of the people said.

The financing package consists of a $14 billion bridge loan and a revolving credit facility. In exchange for its support, Google is expected to receive an equity stake of roughly 20% in the data-center and power project, people familiar with the agreement said.

https://www.wsj.com/tech/banks-in-talks … _lead_pos1