Nscale and Anthropic reportedly in talks for a second $45 billion compute deal

Nscale and Anthropic are negotiating a second AI cloud deal worth about $45 billion, Bloomberg reported on 19 October 2026, citing people familiar with the talks [1][2]. Nothing has been signed, and both companies declined to comment [2]. The report came a day after Microsoft's exit from Nscale's planned Loughton data centre in Essex became public [5].

What is reportedly on the table?

Nscale and Anthropic are in talks over a second compute deal worth about $45 billion, Bloomberg reported. According to the people Bloomberg cited, it would cover a second building at Nscale's Monarch campus in West Virginia with 460 megawatts of computing capacity on Nvidia Vera Rubin chips [2].

The same sources said Anthropic also holds a right of first refusal on a planned third Monarch building [2]. They said a deal could come within days, but talks are ongoing, details could change and no final decision has been made [1][2].

What did the two companies already sign?

Nscale's IPO filing says its existing Anthropic agreements provide for payments of up to about $44.6 billion. The GPU services agreements were signed on 25 August 2026 and cover dedicated infrastructure for Nvidia Vera Rubin NVL72 systems at Monarch [3].

West Virginia's governor welcomed that first deal in August, citing reports of about $45 billion over six years and 460 megawatts [4]. Nscale says Monarch's first phase is designed for 1.35 GW of AI capacity, with delivery targeted by early 2028 [7].

Why did Microsoft leave Loughton?

Microsoft pulled out as anchor tenant of Nscale's Loughton data centre after power was pushed into the 2030s. UK Power Networks had told Nscale it could not supply enough electricity until the early to mid-2030s, The Guardian reported [5].

Nscale said in 2025 the site would support 50MW of AI capacity, and it was due to open next year [5][6]. The Guardian says Microsoft was the only publicly announced customer for the site [5].

It is not Microsoft's first step back from Nscale. Bloomberg reports Microsoft was first expected to rent part of Monarch but gave up the West Virginia site in the summer, which let Anthropic become the tenant [2].

Why does Anthropic keep signing compute deals?

Anthropic is one of Nscale's largest customers and has signed deals with Fluidstack ($50 billion), Volta ($10 billion) and SpaceX ($45 billion), according to Bloomberg [2]. Both Anthropic and Nscale are pursuing stock market listings [1].

Bloomberg also reports that some investors have pushed Nscale to lower its IPO valuation target of about $30 billion [1][2]. DCD puts Nscale's contracted revenue at around $103 billion, with Microsoft about 40 percent of it [6].

Our read

Opinion: A second Anthropic deal would neatly answer the Loughton headlines, which is exactly why it should be judged when signed, not when leaked. The S-1 shows the real risk: Anthropic can walk from late tranches, so power and delivery dates matter more than the headline number.

What we could not verify

• The new deal itself: it rests on unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg, and neither company has confirmed it.
• The 460 MW figure, the right of first refusal on a third building and the timing come only from those sources.
• We read Bloomberg's report through its Spanish edition, Bloomberg Línea, and Bloomberg Law's preview; the English original is paywalled.
• Microsoft's earlier withdrawal from Monarch is reported by Bloomberg; we found no Microsoft statement on it.
• The financial terms of Microsoft's Loughton termination have not been disclosed.