The race to secure enough computing power to train and run artificial intelligence models has taken a new step. Anthropic, the company responsible for the Claude chatbot, has finalized a contractual commitment with Akamai valued at $11.6 billion over seven years, as confirmed by Akamai in a press release published on September 24, 2026.
The move is part of a trend that has accelerated in recent months: major artificial intelligence labs are no longer purchasing computing capacity month-to-month, but are instead signing multi-year contracts to hedge against the sector's growing demand. This agreement with Akamai, a company specializing in cloud services and content delivery, is one of the most recent and largest examples.
What the agreement entails
The contract expands an existing relationship between the two companies and is designed to cover Anthropic's growing demand for CPU capacity—that is, the general processors of a computer. This distinguishes it from much of the usual news regarding AI infrastructure, which almost always focuses on graphics cards or GPUs.
The capacity will be supplied through Akamai Cloud's distributed AI infrastructure. The company's statement does not detail which specific Anthropic models will use these resources or for what specific services they will be used, so any interpretation beyond what has been confirmed should be taken with caution.
An unusual detail: stock options
Beyond the overall figure, the agreement includes a component that is unusual in these types of contracts. Akamai has granted Anthropic a warrant, which is the right to acquire shares of Akamai itself in the future.
These are non-voting convertible preferred shares, equivalent to 7.7 million common shares, which could represent nearly 5% of Akamai's capital. Of that percentage, approximately 2% is already tied to the current $11.6 billion commitment.
The remainder, around an additional 3%, depends on the agreement growing over time. According to the terms described by Akamai, the contract could be expanded by up to another $9 billion, and for every additional $3 billion added, Anthropic would obtain approximately 1% more in potential ownership.
Akamai’s vision
Tom Leighton, co-founder and CEO of Akamai, highlighted in the statement that the company's global network and experience working with large enterprise clients position it to become an infrastructure provider for artificial intelligence applications and workloads in a secure and responsible manner.
Akamai estimates that the investment in equipment needed to meet this commitment will be around $5.5 billion. The company also expects to increase its capital expenditure this year by an additional $1.7 billion, aimed at securing and purchasing critical components in advance, including memory.
This contract with Anthropic adds to more than $2.8 billion in multi-year cloud services contracts that Akamai had already announced in 2026 with its overall client base, which gives an idea of the growth rate of the AI infrastructure business.
What this agreement means for Claude users
For regular Claude users, this announcement does not imply immediate changes. The statement does not mention price adjustments, new models, or additional features derived directly from this contract.
What it does clearly reflect is the direction the sector is taking: artificial intelligence labs are reserving computing capacity through multi-year contracts, and cloud infrastructure companies are integrating into that distribution with increasingly sophisticated agreements that combine financial commitments with financial instruments such as warrants.
For freelancers and small businesses that use tools based on Claude or other similar models, the practical takeaway is that the AI services contracted for a few euros a month are supported by infrastructure investments of enormous magnitude and long-term duration. This circumstance reinforces the advisability of not depending on a single artificial intelligence provider for critical business tasks.
The announcement comes just days after Anthropic introduced Claude Sonnet 5.5, the latest update to its family of models, confirming the accelerated pace of development the company maintains in parallel with its infrastructure moves.
Frequently Asked Questions
What exactly is Anthropic?
Anthropic is the company that develops the artificial intelligence chatbot Claude, one of the main competitors to other conversational systems on the market.
What is Akamai and what role does it play in this agreement?
Akamai is a cloud services and content delivery company that, according to this agreement, will provide Anthropic with CPU processing capacity through its Akamai Cloud infrastructure for seven years.
Why does the contract mention CPU and not GPU?
Akamai's press release specifies that the commitment covers CPU capacity, the general processors of a computer, unlike other agreements in the sector focused on graphics cards or GPUs, which are more common in training AI models.
What is the warrant included in the agreement?
It is a right that Akamai grants to Anthropic to purchase convertible preferred shares of Akamai in the future, equivalent to 7.7 million common shares, with a cap near 5% of the company's capital if the contract is expanded under the planned terms.
Does this agreement change the price or features of Claude for users?
According to the available information, no. The statement does not mention price modifications, new models, or additional features derived directly from this infrastructure contract.
When was this agreement announced?
Akamai made the commitment public via a press release dated September 24, 2026.