Anthropic in Talks With Nscale for Another $45 Billion Compute Deal
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What happened
Bloomberg first reported on 2026-10-19, citing people familiar with the matter, that AI company Anthropic is in talks with U.K. infrastructure firm Nscale for a second deal to lease computing capacity that could be worth around $45 billion. The proposed agreement would cover a second 460-megawatt data center at the same West Virginia site as an earlier Anthropic-Nscale arrangement reported about a month prior. Sources cautioned that talks are still underway and that details could change. Anthropic declined to comment; Nscale was approached for comment. TechCrunch and CNBC later credited Bloomberg as the origin of the report.
Sourcing check · No one on the record · single origin · 2 articles
ANONYMOUS SOURCES ONLY · NO ONE ON THE RECORD IN 2 ARTICLESSINGLE ORIGIN · EVERY OUTLET TRACES THIS TO BLOOMBERG
No article cites a named source; the reporting relies on people who aren't identified. It started with a Bloomberg report citing unnamed sources and none has been named since. Most articles credit Bloomberg rather than reporting it themselves.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 0 of 2
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: No article does.
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 2
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 2 of 2
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Bloomberg
- Unnamed sources 2 of 2
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this. Here: e.g. “people familiar with the matter”
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Oct 19, 23:39 UTC by TechCrunch, crediting Bloomberg, with no named source. No article has named one since.
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
BLINDSPOT.
Only left-leaning outlets are covering this story
— the other side's media is silent.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning coverage has Anthropic back at Nscale for more compute, but it leaves out whether Nscale can fund another giant lease. That coverage puts the talks at around $45 billion. It places the machines in a second data center on the same West Virginia site as the first pact. It quotes an Nscale spokesperson saying a London grid delay has "no impact on our other contracts." It never mentions investor pushback over a proposed IPO valuation of $30 billion. It also never says the first Nscale pact was already in that same range. Right-leaning outlets had not covered this as of publication, so those readers miss the talks and the funding question alike.
Is there a signed contract, or only talks whose price and site could still change?
Bottom line
CNBC reported a second Nscale data center for Anthropic without the $30 billion IPO valuation investors are already resisting.
The receipts — 5 facts one side's coverage lacks
- Anthropic is in talks with Nscale for a second compute deal that could be worth around $45 billion
- The second facility would be a 460-megawatt data center at the same West Virginia site as the first deal
- Anthropic declined to comment on the talks
- Talks are still underway and the details could change
- Nscale filed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange in September
The Left View
CNBC, citing a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak, reported talks over a second roughly $45 billion Nscale lease for another 460-megawatt data center in West Virginia, after a first deal CNBC reported in August. It placed the talks against AI-infrastructure strain: share drops at CoreWeave and Nebius, Nscale’s planned NYSE listing, a Telegraph report that Microsoft pulled out of an Nscale site near London over U.K. grid delays (Nscale said it remained committed and was exploring other power sources), and Anthropic’s other capacity deals with AMD, SpaceX, Google, and Broadcom. TechCrunch, also crediting Bloomberg, said the pair may be near another $45 billion deal, noted investor worry that AI firms are spending heavily for uncertain profit, and reported both companies are pursuing IPOs, with Nscale facing pushback on a proposed $30 billion valuation.
Our Take (balanced)
The story is thin: it rests on unnamed sources describing unfinished talks, with no contracts, filings, or on-the-record confirmation from either company. Established are Bloomberg’s 2026-10-19 report, a prior Anthropic-Nscale compute arrangement, and Anthropic’s public statements about infrastructure strain; a second ~$45 billion West Virginia deal remains alleged and could still change or collapse. No right-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for a formal announcement, on-the-record comments, or securities filings that would corroborate size, site, and timing.
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