Anthropic has unveiled a partnership with Google and Broadcom for multiple gigawatts of next-generation computing capacity, expected to become operational starting in 2027. This commitment marks the company's most significant to date, as revenue growth accelerates to a $30 billion annual run rate from $9 billion at the end of 2025. The scale of AI computing demand now directly competes with bitcoin mining for the same limited resources, including grid connections, land permits, cooling infrastructure, and affordable electricity.
A deal has been signed with Google and Broadcom for multiple gigawatts of next-generation computing capacity to train and serve frontier Claude models, starting in 2027. According to a Cambridge tracker, bitcoin mining globally consumes approximately 13 to 25 gigawatts of continuous power, depending on hardware efficiency assumptions.
Anthropic's acquisition of multiple gigawatts from a single deal, in addition to existing capacity across various platforms, demonstrates the rapid emergence of AI as a peer-level competitor for the same energy infrastructure that miners rely on. Furthermore, the aggregate AI computing buildout represents one of the largest sources of new electricity demand in the United States, coinciding with the decision of bitcoin miners to either mine bitcoin or rent their infrastructure to AI companies. This decision is increasingly favoring the latter, as evidenced by Core Scientific's conversion of significant mining capacity to AI hosting and the expansion of AI and high-performance computing revenue by Iris Energy and Hut 8.
The economics of mining are becoming less sustainable, with Riot Platforms, MARA Holdings, and Genius Group disclosing the sale of over 19,000 BTC from their treasuries. A bitcoin miner operating a gigawatt of capacity earns revenue that fluctuates with bitcoin's price and network difficulty, whereas renting the same capacity to an AI company yields a contracted rate with predictable cash flows.
At current prices and difficulty levels, the AI rental often provides better returns. The revenue numbers behind the expansion tell a compelling story, with Anthropic reporting that the number of business customers spending over $1 million annually on Claude has doubled from 500 to over 1,000 in less than two months.
While this does not signify the demise of bitcoin mining, the network's hashrate continues to reach record levels above 1 zetahash per second. However, the miners that survive the current cycle may evolve to resemble infrastructure companies that happen to mine bitcoin on the side, while renting their primary asset – affordable power at scale – to an AI industry that is struggling to build data centers quickly enough.