OpenAI rival Anthropic is planning a $50 billion investment in US-based AI infrastructure.
The company aims to build its own data centers in Texas and New York, with additional sites likely to follow. These facilities will be custom-built to meet the demands of Anthropic's AI systems, including Claude, the company claims. The first centers are set to go online in 2026, and the project is expected to create roughly 800 permanent jobs and 2,400 temporary positions.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says the move is meant to support the next generation of AI. "We’re getting closer to AI that can accelerate scientific discovery and help solve complex problems in ways that weren’t possible before. Realizing that potential requires infrastructure that can support continued development at the frontier," Amodei says.
Some industry watchers warn that the rush to build ever-larger, often debt-financed data centers could be fueling an investment bubble. Critics say this strategy may have less to do with immediate AI breakthroughs and more to do with attracting as many investors and partners as possible, creating a "too big to fail" dynamic. Neither OpenAI nor Anthropic is close to turning a profit. Only rapid, large-scale growth—and ever-rising demand for computing power—could eventually make their high debt loads and investor expectations manageable.
