Anthropic has entered into a significant partnership with Google and Broadcom to secure multiple gigawatts of next-generation TPU compute capacity, slated to come online starting in 2027. This move marks the company's largest commitment to date, driven by accelerated revenue growth to a $30 billion annual run rate from $9 billion at the end of 2025. The substantial scale of AI compute demand is now directly competing with bitcoin mining for limited resources, including grid connections, land permits, cooling infrastructure, and affordable electricity. According to estimates, bitcoin mining globally consumes roughly 13 to 25 gigawatts of continuous power, depending on hardware efficiency.
Anthropic's latest deal demonstrates the rapid growth of AI as a major competitor for the same energy infrastructure that miners rely on. Other companies, such as OpenAI, are also building extensive infrastructure portfolios, contributing to the aggregate AI compute buildout and representing one of the largest new sources of electricity demand in the United States.
As a result, bitcoin miners are faced with the decision to either mine bitcoin or rent their infrastructure to AI companies, with an increasing number opting for the latter due to more predictable cash flows. The revenue generated from renting infrastructure to AI companies often surpasses that of mining bitcoin, particularly at current prices and difficulty levels. While this shift does not signify the demise of bitcoin mining, it may lead to a transformation in the industry, with surviving miners potentially evolving into infrastructure companies that mine bitcoin as a secondary operation while primarily renting their cheap power at scale to the rapidly expanding AI industry.