Anthropic is reportedly paying $3.4 billion for Caterpillar generators that burn natural gas and can produce up to 1.7 gigawatts, according to the Financial Times, as relayed by TechCrunch. The equipment was first ordered by OnePWR, a supplier that, per the FT, could not find the financing to finish the purchase. Anthropic had meant to buy from OnePWR and went to Caterpillar directly instead.
Owning machinery is out of character. Anthropic’s May S-1 filing shows it paying xAI, the SpaceX subsidiary, $1.25 billion a month through May 2029 for computing power, and the filing says to expect more contracts of that kind.
Turbines are scarce, which probably explains the switch. TechCrunch notes that the backlog for gas turbines runs into the early 2030s, and grid connection queues can be just as long. Taking over an existing order would sidestep that wait. TechCrunch adds that it is unclear why OnePWR could not raise the money.
Spread over 1.7 gigawatts, the price works out to about $2 billion per gigawatt, a number anyone planning a data center can now hold against their own power quotes.
Reported by TechCrunch on 9 November 2026, citing the Financial Times.
