Akamai lands $11.6B cloud computing deal with Anthropic

Akamai Technologies has entered into an $11.6 billion seven-year cloud computing deal with AI developer Anthropic. This agreement could potentially grow to $20 billion in the future. The partnership focuses on Akamai's central processing units (CPUs) to handle Anthropic's growing CPU workload demands, rather than graphics processors (GPUs), which are currently driving the AI industry.

Anthropic will utilize Akamai Cloud's distributed AI infrastructure and software to serve its AI applications faster and more reliably. This deal represents a significant win for Akamai as it expands beyond its traditional content delivery and cybersecurity services into large-scale cloud computing. Akamai's CEO, Dr Tom Leighton, expressed delight at Anthropic's decision to choose Akamai's capabilities for building and operating AI infrastructure at scale.

As part of the partnership, Akamai granted Anthropic a warrant to purchase 7.7 million shares of non-voting Series B preferred stock, which could convert to common stock or represent about 5% of Akamai's outstanding shares. This financial stake is tied to Anthropic's performance on the deal. The total capital expenditures to support the deal are estimated at around $5.5 billion.

Akamai anticipates no impact to its 2026 revenue guidance, with an increase of around $1.7 billion in capital expenditures in 2026 to secure critical supply chain components, including memory.