Nvidia-backed Nscale, Anthropic in talks on major AI cloud venture

Nscale, a cloud infrastructure company backed by chipmaker Nvidia, and Anthropic, an AI safety-focused research firm, are in advanced discussions over a substantial partnership to expand AI computing capacity, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The potential agreement could value the joint venture at approximately US$45 billion, marking one of the largest infrastructure commitments in the rapidly expanding AI sector. The deal would combine Nscale's cloud infrastructure expertise with Anthropic's AI model development capabilities to create a unified platform for computational resources.

The talks emerge against a backdrop of growing investor concern over the capital-intensive nature of AI infrastructure buildout. Numerous technology companies have announced multi-billion-dollar spending commitments to develop data centres and computing systems required to train and deploy large language models, raising questions about profitability and return on investment timelines.

Neither company has publicly confirmed the negotiations or commented on the reported terms. The discussions underscore the competitive dynamics shaping the AI infrastructure landscape, as major technology firms seek to secure reliable computing capacity and differentiate their offerings in an increasingly crowded market.

The potential tie-up would represent a significant consolidation within the emerging AI infrastructure sector, where partnerships and joint ventures have become common as companies seek to share the substantial financial burden of scaling operations.