Akamai Technologies has signed a seven-year, $11.6 billion cloud-services agreement with Anthropic, one of the largest infrastructure commitments yet disclosed between an AI model developer and a distributed cloud provider.
Under the deal, Anthropic will use Akamai Cloud infrastructure and software to support growing CPU workloads. Akamai said the relationship could expand by up to another $9 billion, taking the potential total commitment to roughly $20 billion.
Anthropic could receive a stake in Akamai
The agreement also includes a warrant that could ultimately give Anthropic up to about 5% of Akamai’s outstanding common stock. Akamai said a portion representing roughly 2% is expected to vest in connection with the initial commitment, with further vesting tied to expansion of the relationship.
The structure shows how the AI infrastructure race is broadening beyond the largest hyperscale cloud providers. Anthropic’s demand is increasingly spread across specialized compute and cloud arrangements as model training, inference and related CPU workloads continue to grow.
Akamai plans billions in capital spending
Akamai’s investor presentation estimates about $5.5 billion in cumulative capital expenditure tied to the contract. The company expects service initiation in 2027, with revenue ramping through 2028 before reaching a full contracted run rate.
Reuters reported that Akamai shares jumped sharply in extended trading after the agreement was announced, reflecting investor expectations that the Anthropic contract could materially reshape the company’s cloud business.
The deal follows a series of large AI infrastructure commitments across the technology sector, as model developers seek additional computing capacity and cloud providers compete for multi-year contracts.
Sources: Akamai Technologies official announcement and investor presentation, Sept. 24, 2026; Reuters, Sept. 24, 2026. Image credit: Wikimedia Commons, Akamai Technologies logo, editorial identity use.
