Nscale is pursuing another massive computing supply agreement with Anthropic, further solidifying its commercial footprint ahead of a planned U.S. listing.
According to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg, Nvidia-backed data center developer Nscale is in talks with AI company Anthropic over a cloud computing agreement worth approximately $45 billion, involving a second building at the Monarch data center campus in West Virginia.
The sources said the deal could be finalized within the next few days, but negotiations are still ongoing, details may change, and no final decision has been made yet.
This potential transaction would provide significant support for Nscale's IPO plans. The company is currently seeking a listing valuation of about $30 billion, but according to previous reports, some investors have urged it to lower its target valuation to $16 billion to $19 billion, a reduction of more than 40% from the original plan.
Second Monarch Building to Feature Nvidia's Latest Vera Rubin Chips
According to people familiar with the matter, the second building at the Monarch campus will provide 460 megawatts of computing capacity and will use Nvidia's latest-generation Vera Rubin AI chips. In addition, Anthropic has secured the right of first negotiation for a planned third building at the Monarch campus.
According to regulatory filings Nscale submitted for its IPO, Anthropic and Nscale have already signed an agreement worth up to approximately $44.6 billion for existing infrastructure, and the newly negotiated transaction would further expand the scale of cooperation between the two parties on that basis.
The Monarch campus is located in West Virginia, and once completed, its total computing capacity can be expanded to more than 8 gigawatts.
It is worth noting that the campus was initially expected to be leased by Microsoft. Microsoft announced in March that it had signed a related letter of intent, but according to Bloomberg, Microsoft withdrew from the project this summer, clearing space for Anthropic to move in.
Anthropic Ranks Among the Largest Buyers of Data Center Infrastructure
Anthropic has become a heavyweight customer of data center suppliers in recent years.
It is understood that its signed computing procurement agreements include a $50 billion deal with Fluidstack, a $10 billion deal with startup Volta Infrastructure Holdings, and a $45 billion deal with Elon Musk's SpaceX.
The AI company was valued at $965 billion in May this year, and the market expects it to launch its own IPO process in the coming months, potentially setting a fundraising record. To support continued expansion, Anthropic is still actively seeking more computing resources.
Nscale IPO Process Still Awaiting SEC Review Completion
Nscale publicly filed its U.S. listing application in September, but despite the statutory 15-day waiting period having expired, the company has not yet launched a formal roadshow. According to people familiar with the matter, the company is currently addressing feedback from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its application and plans to begin marketing after the relevant issues are resolved.
Prior to that, Nscale completed a $3.36 billion pre-IPO funding round last month, led by Dan Loeb's Third Point, with participation from institutions including Nvidia, Apollo Global Management, Citadel, Hudson Bay Capital, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Council.
However, macro market sentiment still poses a potential headwind. Investors are becoming increasingly cautious about large-scale debt financing amid the AI data center boom, with effects spreading from chip stocks to cloud computing corporate bonds, creating some uncertainty for Nscale's listing pricing.
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