Anthropic Buys 1.7GW of Gas Generators for $3.4 Billion
Anthropic has taken over a 1.7GW heavy-duty gas generator order that OnePWR Solutions placed with Caterpillar, paying $3.4 billion in what is the largest power-equipment purchase by an AI company to date. The deal shows AI firms bypassing utilities to secure electricity directly, mirroring xAI's turbine purchases and Alphabet's acquisition of an energy developer.
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IT Home News, November 8: According to a report by the UK's Financial Times this evening (the 8th), Anthropic has signed a large order for gas-powered generator sets for data centers.
As the supply of power generation equipment becomes increasingly tight, AI companies are beginning to bypass intermediaries and purchase directly, further extending into the energy industry.
The report disclosed that in late September, Anthropic spent $3.4 billion (IT Home note: approximately RMB 22.749 billion at the current exchange rate) to take over an order for heavy-duty generator sets with a total capacity of 1.7 GW from equipment supplier OnePWR Solutions in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
According to known transaction records, this is the largest power generation equipment purchase order to date by an AI company, and it also reflects how tech companies are continuously extending into the energy industry in order to compete for power supply.
In the past, AI companies usually relied on utility companies and specialized power companies for electricity. However, demand for gas turbines and generator sets has surged, and equipment delivery times have been extended to several years later, so cash-rich AI companies have begun to skip the intermediary links and directly secure power generation capacity.
According to people familiar with the matter, OnePWR ordered generator sets from Caterpillar two years ago and still needed financing to complete the purchase. Anthropic originally planned to buy services from OnePWR, but later changed its mind and directly took over the equipment order OnePWR had placed with Caterpillar.
Directly purchasing power generation equipment also helped SpaceX quickly put large data centers into operation. Earlier this year, SpaceX's xAI spent $2 billion (approximately RMB 13.382 billion at the current exchange rate) to buy mobile gas turbines. Google's parent company Alphabet, meanwhile, acquired energy developer Intersect at the end of 2025.
Anthropic chose another approach: it did not acquire an entire company, nor did it simply buy equipment, but instead took over orders signed years ago, before equipment prices rose. Some generator sets can be delivered soon, and the remaining equipment will also be in place within the next two years.
Anthropic is also a major customer of SpaceX. It is expected that by the end of this year, Anthropic's monthly computing power leasing fees paid to SpaceX will reach $3.1 billion (approximately RMB 20.742 billion at the current exchange rate).