Anthropic has struck a deal to buy $3.4 billion of gas power generation equipment and expertise in a move by AI labs to more directly access cheaper energy, the Financial Times has reported.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, the paper said Anthropic bought commitments for 1.7 gigawatts of heavy-duty generators from OnePWR Solutions, a San Antonio, Texas-based equipment supplier.

Citing a person familiar with the matter, the publication added that the deal, agreed in September, included the engineering and construction capabilities needed for Anthropic to install the generators it had bought. None of OnePWR’s engineers transferred to Anthropic, the person said.

OnePWR ordered Caterpillar generators two years ago but needed financing to complete the transaction, a person familiar with the matter told the FT. Anthropic had previously planned to become a customer of the power-generation company but has instead opted to take over the equipment orders itself, buying directly from Caterpillar.

The purchase is the largest known acquisition of power-generation equipment by an AI lab and marks a shift from the general model of relying on utilities and specialist power companies to power data centres.

The massive power draws of these data centres and the rapid pace of their construction is leading to grid connection delays that are stymieing some projects. Last month, Microsoft pulled out of a £2 billion data centre in the UK over concerns about its ability to connect to the grid, while in September, Oracle issued a force majeure notice for a New Mexico data centre for similar reasons.

This is leading the well-funded frontier labs to use their financial power to cut out middlemen and move straight into production, according to the FT.

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