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Akamai Technologies has entered into a seven-year agreement with artificial intelligence company Anthropic involving $11.6 billion in contractual cloud infrastructure commitments, as
demand for computing resources to support AI workloads continues to grow.
Under the agreement, Anthropic will use Akamai’s distributed cloud infrastructure to support its expanding CPU-intensive workloads. The deal significantly expands the companies’ existing relationship and adds to more than $2.8 billion in multi-year Cloud Infrastructure Services commitments Akamai said it secured across its customer base earlier this year.
As part of the agreement, Akamai has also issued Anthropic a warrant to purchase non-voting convertible Series B preferred stock. The warrant represents 7.7 million Akamai common shares on an as-converted basis, equivalent to approximately 5% of the company’s outstanding common stock.
About 2% of Akamai’s outstanding shares is expected to vest under the initial $11.6 billion commitment. The remaining approximately 3% would vest if Anthropic expands its cloud- services purchases by up to an additional $9 billion during the seven-year term.
According to the company, each additional $3 billion in cloud-service purchases under mutually agreed terms would result in the vesting of approximately 1% of Akamai’s outstanding common stock.
Akamai said its infrastructure is designed to support computing across central and edge locations through a globally distributed network. The company is positioning this infrastructure to handle applications and workloads associated with the growing use of AI.
The financial scale of the agreement will also have implications for Akamai’s capital spending. The company estimates that total capital expenditure associated with the $11.6 billion commitment will be approximately $5.5 billion.
Akamai expects to increase its capital expenditure by around $1.7 billion in 2026, primarily to secure and pre-purchase components needed for the infrastructure build-out, including memory. The company said the agreement is not expected to affect its existing 2026 revenue guidance. Akamai CEO and co-founder Tom Leighton said the agreement reflects the company’s expanding role in providing infrastructure for AI workloads.
The development comes as AI companies increasingly require large amounts of computing capacity to train and operate models and deploy AI applications. The agreement also highlights the growing importance of cloud infrastructure providers beyond the traditional hyperscale cloud market.
Under the agreement, Anthropic will use Akamai’s distributed cloud infrastructure to support its expanding CPU-intensive workloads. The deal significantly expands the companies’ existing relationship and adds to more than $2.8 billion in multi-year Cloud Infrastructure Services commitments Akamai said it secured across its customer base earlier this year.
As part of the agreement, Akamai has also issued Anthropic a warrant to purchase non-voting convertible Series B preferred stock. The warrant represents 7.7 million Akamai common shares on an as-converted basis, equivalent to approximately 5% of the company’s outstanding common stock.
About 2% of Akamai’s outstanding shares is expected to vest under the initial $11.6 billion commitment. The remaining approximately 3% would vest if Anthropic expands its cloud- services purchases by up to an additional $9 billion during the seven-year term.
According to the company, each additional $3 billion in cloud-service purchases under mutually agreed terms would result in the vesting of approximately 1% of Akamai’s outstanding common stock.
Akamai said its infrastructure is designed to support computing across central and edge locations through a globally distributed network. The company is positioning this infrastructure to handle applications and workloads associated with the growing use of AI.
The financial scale of the agreement will also have implications for Akamai’s capital spending. The company estimates that total capital expenditure associated with the $11.6 billion commitment will be approximately $5.5 billion.
Akamai expects to increase its capital expenditure by around $1.7 billion in 2026, primarily to secure and pre-purchase components needed for the infrastructure build-out, including memory. The company said the agreement is not expected to affect its existing 2026 revenue guidance. Akamai CEO and co-founder Tom Leighton said the agreement reflects the company’s expanding role in providing infrastructure for AI workloads.
The development comes as AI companies increasingly require large amounts of computing capacity to train and operate models and deploy AI applications. The agreement also highlights the growing importance of cloud infrastructure providers beyond the traditional hyperscale cloud market.
