Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, has agreed to invest up to $11.6 billion over the next seven years in Akamai’s cloud computing infrastructure. This commitment is more than six times the size of a previously reported $1.8 billion deal and is the largest in Akamai’s history. However, the agreement is not guaranteed and hinges on Akamai meeting specific service and delivery requirements. Either company can terminate the deal under certain conditions, and the deal continues Anthropic’s pattern of heavy investment in computing resources to support its AI work. The agreement focuses on CPUs, which are general-purpose computer chips used for tasks like running software and browsing the internet. As AI systems take on more complex tasks, demand for computing power has surged, though Akamai has not specified exactly how Anthropic will use the CPUs. Akamai will not receive revenue from the deal this year but expects to generate between $150 million and $300 million in 2027, with revenue reaching approximately $1.7 billion annually by the end of 2028. To prepare for the increased demand, Akamai plans to spend about $5.5 billion on infrastructure, including an additional $1.7 billion in capital expenditures this year for components like memory. As part of the deal, Akamai granted Anthropic a warrant—a financial instrument that gives the right to purchase shares—allowing Anthropic to convert it into up to 5% of Akamai’s outstanding stock. The warrant is tied to Anthropic’s spending with Akamai, with an additional 1% of shares becoming available for every additional $3 billion committed. This structure is unique for Akamai, which typically does not attach such warrants to cloud deals. The agreement could grow to as much as $20 billion if all conditions are met. This deal reverses the typical pattern in AI-related business arrangements, where suppliers like chipmakers and cloud providers usually invest directly in AI companies. In this case, Akamai is offering Anthropic a potential equity stake that increases as Anthropic’s spending grows. A similar approach was used by AMD with OpenAI last year. Anthropic has previously received investments or commitments from major tech companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and AMD, which have also sold them computing resources. Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei, has noted that the company does not participate in such deals at the same scale as some of its competitors. Following the announcement, Akamai’s stock rose as much as 17% in after-hours trading.