Akamai Secures $11.6 Billion Anthropic Cloud Commitment
Akamai announced a seven-year contract with Anthropic valued at $11.6 billion, with an additional $9 billion possible if more capacity is needed. The agreement significantly increases Akamai's cloud infrastructure business, which had only $99 million in second-quarter revenue. Akamai expects about $5.5 billion in capital spending before the contract reaches full revenue run rate.
Akamai’s cloud infrastructure unit recorded $99 million in second-quarter revenue, so the Anthropic pact is far larger than its current base. Including earlier customer deals, signed cloud infrastructure contracts now total about $14.4 billion, which management expects to produce roughly $2.2 billion in annual recurring revenue once fully ramped.
The Anthropic portion alone is projected to reach about $1.7 billion in annual run rate by late 2028. Akamai expects no contract revenue in 2026, with contributions beginning in 2027’s second half, and about $5.5 billion in capital spending before full ramp. Warrants tied to up to roughly 5% of shares at $111.33 are also part of the structure.
The deal may accelerate construction of data centers and CPU capacity, affecting local energy use, land, and labor demand. Businesses relying on Anthropic could see more available compute, while Akamai shareholders face execution and margin risks. Broader cloud customers might benefit from added capacity, though costs and environmental pressures could rise if expansion outpaces efficiency gains.