Anthropic signs first Australian data centre agreement

AI giant Anthropic signed its first data centre lease ⁠agreement in ⁠Australia, two people familiar with the deal said, capitalising on a favourable political environment and abundant renewable resources to secure capacity at what would be one of the world's largest computing facilities.

The lease covers a ‌data centre campus with planned capacity totalling 2.16 gigawatts, one ‌of ‌the people said, on par with some of ‌the largest centres currently operating worldwide.

The proposed facility ⁠on farmland about 250 km from Brisbane is planned to start coming online in 2027, the people said.

The deal makes Anthropic the latest AI heavyweight to secure a foothold in Australia following an offtake ​agreement OpenAI struck for a Sydney data centre last year, as firms race to lock in power and land in a country ⁠pitched as a low-cost, renewable energy-rich alternative to more congested markets in the US and Asia.

It comes after Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei last week called on AI companies to slow the rate at which they advance model capabilities amid mounting fears of misuse of artificial intelligence, a call backed by Elon Musk, who runs rival xAI, and Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI.

US President Donald Trump described critics of AI as "very negative forces" who were ​bringing up scenarios that will not happen.

The Australian ⁠government has responded to community pushback over land, water ⁠and electricity use by promising to set restrictions from 2027 over data centre resource use, but continues ​to court an investment boom that economists say may total $150 billion in Australia by ⁠2030.

Anthropic's Australian lease would be for a data centre planned by Singapore-based developer Zerra DC which would source renewable power purchase agreements and bear grid connection costs without incurring costs to ‌existing customers, said the people who could not be named because they were not authorised to comment to the media.

Anthropic and Zerra DC declined to comment.

The facility is set to be used for inference - or rapid, prediction-based processing - but ​not training, one of the people added. Australia has said its new AI rules will set limits to use of domestically produced content for training.

The site would also use a closed-loop, air-cooled ‌system, which ⁠reduces the need for clean water ​when removing heat from servers, the people said.

The deal is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

Deal later confirmed

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli confirmed details of the agreement in state parliament, and suggested the government had contributed to selling the state as a host.

"Earlier today Anthropic signed an historic agreement for their first Australian data centre," he said.

"Queensland will be home to the Western Downs Digital Park - a long-term commitment to our state with the site planned to come online in 2027.

"I met with Anthropic during my recent trade mission to outline why Queensland was
the place to invest, with energy security and a streamlined approvals process.

"To have secured Anthropic’s first major investment in Australia is a massive show of confidence in Queensland."

Real estate asset manager and owner Dexus also confirmed the deal in an ASX statement; it holds an interest in Australian Data Centres (ADC), which in turns holds an interest in the consortium of Zerra DC and Macquarie Capital that is building Western Downs Digital Park.

"The consortium has entered into lease documentation with the Australian subsidiary of Anthropic for the delivery of the first stage of the campus, subject to customary approvals," Dexus said.

Additional reporting by iTnews.