Anthropic's contracted compute mix includes 4.7 GW of NVIDIA GPUs, which represents the largest portion of its stated capacity. This figure surpasses the 4.5 GW contracted for Google TPUs. The company's compute footprint also includes 1.2 GW of Amazon Trainium chips and 0.8 GW of AMD GPUs.
The reliance on NVIDIA GPUs is notable because they are reportedly costlier than the TPUs and Trainium chips. In a separate financing development, Broadcom's CEO engaged in talks with major banks to secure a loan for Anthropic, which would allow the AI lab to purchase TPUs designed by Google and Broadcom. The Wall Street Journal reported that Broadcom's financing deal for Anthropic faced hurdles due to the macroeconomic environment, characterized by rising interest rates and market instability concerning neoclouds.
The deal, which eventually passed, involved Broadcom setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to secure $40 billion in loans from a bank syndicate, with an additional loan from Blackstone bringing the total to $63 billion. The SPV would then buy the TPUs from Broadcom and Google and lease them to Anthropic, using the lease payments to repay the loan. Broadcom's CEO personally intervened during negotiations by offering banks a higher interest rate on the proposed loan, along with guarantees to cover potential losses, which reportedly helped finalize the agreement.
