Akamai signs USD $11.6 billion deal with Anthropic

Akamai has signed a seven-year agreement with Anthropic worth USD $11.6 billion, deepening the companies' cloud infrastructure relationship.

The agreement is a seven-year contractual commitment that could expand by a further USD $9 billion, bringing its total potential value to about USD $20 billion. It is intended to support Anthropic's growing CPU workload demand using Akamai's distributed cloud infrastructure and software.

The commitment is one of the largest disclosed customer agreements tied to AI infrastructure demand. It also adds to more than USD $2.8 billion in multi-year Cloud Infrastructure Services commitments Akamai had previously announced across its broader customer base.

Under the terms, Akamai has issued a warrant to Anthropic tied to the relationship's expansion. The warrant covers the purchase of non-voting convertible Series B Preferred Stock representing 7.7 million shares of Akamai common stock on an as-converted basis, or up to about 5% of Akamai's common stock outstanding, at an exercise price of USD $111.33 per share.

A portion of the warrant, representing about 2% of Akamai's common stock outstanding, is expected to vest in connection with the USD $11.6 billion commitment. The remaining roughly 3% would vest if the agreement expands by up to another USD $9 billion during the seven-year term, with each additional USD $3 billion in cloud services purchases triggering vesting tied to about 1% of Akamai's common stock outstanding.

Infrastructure demand

The size of the contract offers a fresh indication of the scale of computing resources being lined up to support AI workloads, particularly as companies seek access to large volumes of CPU-based infrastructure over several years. While public attention in AI infrastructure has focused largely on graphics processors, this agreement is centred on CPU workload growth.

Total capital expenditure related to the USD $11.6 billion commitment is estimated at about USD $5.5 billion. Akamai also expects an increase of about USD $1.7 billion in capital expenditure in 2026 to secure and pre-purchase critical supply chain components, including memory.

Akamai said the agreement would have no impact on its 2026 revenue guidance, suggesting the contract's financial effect will be recognised over a longer period while near-term spending focuses on preparing infrastructure and securing supply.

The company operates a distributed network spanning thousands of points of presence. Its cloud platform supports compute from core to edge and is built with diversified hardware for customers building and running applications.

Strategic terms

The warrant structure gives Anthropic an equity-linked incentive tied to a larger purchasing relationship. That approach has become more visible in major AI infrastructure agreements as suppliers compete for long-term commitments from model developers and large AI customers.

For Akamai, the arrangement marks another step in its effort to grow cloud infrastructure revenue beyond its long-established content delivery and security businesses. The company has been investing in cloud services as demand rises for infrastructure that can support AI development, deployment, and related workloads.

Anthropic, one of the best-funded AI model developers, has been expanding its infrastructure partnerships as it seeks the computing capacity needed to train, run, and serve AI systems. The Akamai agreement points to a broader trend of AI companies locking in multi-year access to infrastructure amid tight supply chains for hardware and memory.

Dr. Tom Leighton, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Akamai, commented on the agreement.

"Anthropic is advancing the AI revolution and we are thrilled they chose Akamai's capabilities for building and operating AI infrastructure at scale," said Dr. Tom Leighton, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Akamai. "Akamai has an unparalleled reputation for helping our customers achieve their business-critical goals and build the future. Our expanding global footprint, combined with our years of experience serving the world's largest enterprises, positions us to be the infrastructure provider for secure and responsible AI applications and workloads."

The contract also underlines how AI-related infrastructure commitments are reshaping capital spending priorities for cloud and network providers, particularly when providers must secure components well in advance to meet customer demand. Akamai put the estimated capital requirement tied to this commitment alone at about USD $5.5 billion.