Google backs $15 billion Anthropic data center loan in Texas

Morgan Stanley-led banks are in talks to lend $15 billion for an Anthropic data center campus in Texas, backed by Google guarantees.

Google is backing a $15 billion financing package for an Anthropic data center campus in Texas, providing guarantees and TPU chips for a roughly 20 percent equity stake.

The deal, reported by the Wall Street Journal citing people familiar with the matter, involves a Morgan Stanley-led consortium lending to Nexus Data Centers for the Hubbard, Texas campus, which includes a 1.6-gigawatt natural-gas power plant. Evercore arranged the deal and served as sole financial advisor to Nexus. An announcement could come as soon as Thursday.

The financing package consists of a $14 billion bridge loan and a revolving credit facility. Google's guarantees cover four data-center leases Anthropic has signed, along with power-purchase agreements tied to the on-site, behind-the-meter plant. Anthropic plans to equip the site with tensor processing units co-designed by Google and Broadcom, with the chips funded through a separate vendor-financing agreement between Anthropic and Broadcom.

The arrangement shows how investment-grade technology firms are increasingly using their balance sheets to finance infrastructure for younger, unprofitable AI developers. Alphabet's maximum potential exposure from credit-derivative backstops rose to $43.8 billion as of June 30, according to SEC filings. Anthropic has signed more than a dozen preliminary lease agreements with U.S. developers and aims for at least 10 gigawatts of capacity over the next several years.

The Hubbard project is part of Anthropic's broader push to become a direct tenant on data center projects rather than renting servers from cloud providers. The leasing effort is led by Tim Hughes, a former Stack Infrastructure executive the company hired this year.

Google has provided similar financial backstops for other data centers where Anthropic is the ultimate customer, including former cryptocurrency miners TeraWulf and Hut8. The company accounts for these backstops as credit derivatives in its SEC filings. If a tenant defaults, Google can take over the underlying leases and use the facilities itself, sublease them to other firms, or terminate its obligation by paying a fee.

Behind-the-meter power sidesteps grid delays

A key advantage of the Hubbard location is its proximity to major gas pipelines. Nexus plans to generate electricity on-site using natural-gas turbines, avoiding the lengthy utility interconnection process that has delayed data center developments across the country. The campus could eventually grow past the planned 1.6-gigawatt capacity.

Nexus was founded by energy-industry veterans who built large-scale natural-gas projects. Chief Executive Ivan Van der Walt previously served as an executive at NextDecade, a Houston-based developer of liquefied-natural-gas export facilities. Construction in Hubbard began in early 2025.

OpenAI pursues similar financing structure

Anthropic's chief rival, OpenAI, has pursued a comparable structure, holding talks with Nvidia to arrange a $250 billion backstop on an Ohio campus that could eventually draw 10 gigawatts. The chip designers that stand to sell hardware into these facilities are the same firms guaranteeing the projects that will buy them.

For investors, the deal highlights the capital intensity of the AI infrastructure buildout. Google's equity stake in the project gives it direct exposure to the data center's value, while Broadcom stands to benefit from TPU vendor financing. Alphabet shares traded down about 0.7 percent on Thursday as the news circulated.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.