Anthropic agreed to pay $3.4 billion for gas-fired generators to power its data centres, as the artificial intelligence (AI) company moved to control its own electricity supply amid a global scramble for scarce equipment, according to a Financial Times report on Sunday November 8.

The publication reported that Anthropic bought commitments for 1.7 gigawatts of heavy-duty generators from OnePWR Solutions, a San Antonio-based equipment supplier, in late September. The newspaper described the deal as the largest known single purchase of power-generation equipment by an AI lab.

Anthropic did not buy OnePWR itself, and none of the supplier's employees moved to the AI company, the report said. However, the agreement included the engineering and construction skills needed to install the generators.

Anthropic had first planned to become a OnePWR customer but instead took over the supplier's orders for Caterpillar generators.

OnePWR had ordered those generators two years ago but needed financing to complete the purchase, the FT said, citing a person familiar with the matter. By stepping in, Anthropic secured engines ordered before prices surged, which would be available in the near term and over the next two years.

Demand for gas turbines and generators had soared, and manufacturing lead times stretched for years, so AI companies used their financial strength to bypass intermediaries and take direct control of supply.

Anthropic's rivals too have undergone similar developments. xAI, which SpaceX owns, bought mobile gas turbines earlier this year for $2 billion, while Alphabet, Google's parent, bought energy developer Intersect in late 2025.

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