Key facts
- Akamai Technologies and Anthropic signed a seven-year cloud services deal worth $11.6 billion.
- The deal includes a warrant for Anthropic to acquire up to 5% of Akamai's stock.
- The contract can expand by $9 billion, potentially reaching $20 billion.
- Akamai shares rose 17% in extended trading following the announcement.
Akamai Technologies and AI developer Anthropic have entered into a seven-year cloud services agreement valued at $11.6 billion, with the potential to grow to $20 billion. The deal, announced Thursday, will provide Anthropic with access to Akamai's cloud infrastructure, including CPUs, which are increasingly in demand for AI agents. This agreement is Akamai's largest in history and significantly larger than a previous $1.8 billion deal reported in May. The commitment is contingent on Akamai meeting certain service requirements, and either party can terminate the agreement under specific conditions. Akamai expects to spend approximately $5.5 billion to build out the necessary capacity, adding $1.7 billion to its capital spending this year for components. As part of the deal, Akamai issued Anthropic a warrant for nonvoting preferred stock convertible into 7.7 million common shares, representing up to a 5% stake in Akamai at $111.33 per share. This potential stake grows as Anthropic increases its spending with Akamai, a structure similar to warrants provided by AMD to OpenAI. Anthropic has previously secured investments from companies like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft while purchasing their services. Akamai shares rose as much as 17% in after-hours trading.