July 17 (Reuters) – Meta Platforms is in talks to lease computing power to Anthropic in a potential deal worth up to $10 billion over \u200ctwo years, according to a source familiar with the matter. <\/p>\n
Shares of \u200cthe social media giant pared losses slightly after the news and closed down more than 2% amid \u200ba wider tech selloff on Friday. They were down marginally in extended trading. <\/p>\n
Such a deal would help Meta diversify beyond advertising by generating revenue from its infrastructure and competing with neocloud firms such as CoreWeave and Nebius, as growing adoption of \u200cadvanced AI tools boosts the \u2060need for computing capacity. <\/p>\n
The Claude Code creator would pay Meta in monthly increments over the two-year period, although the terms remain \u2060subject to change, the source said, adding that the companies would be able to exit any agreement early. <\/p>\n
IPO-bound Anthropic had proposed the deal in June and Meta is \u200bconsidering \u200bit, the source said, adding that the \u200btalks have become complicated since Meta \u200cdoes not have a business selling its computing power. <\/p>\n
The discussions are in their early stages and may not result in a deal, according to the source. <\/p>\n
Meta did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while Anthropic declined to comment. <\/p>\n
The potential agreement echoes a strategy recently pursued by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, with \u200cwhom Anthropic struck a deal in May to \u200btap the full computing power of its \u200bColossus 1 data center in Memphis, \u200bTennessee. <\/p>\n