Anthropic has unveiled a landmark partnership with Google and Broadcom, securing multiple gigawatts of next-generation TPU compute capacity slated to come online in 2027. This significant commitment underscores the company's accelerated revenue growth, which has surged to a $30 billion annual run rate from $9 billion by the end of 2025.
The substantial demand for AI compute 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 consumes approximately 13 to 25 gigawatts of continuous power globally, depending on hardware efficiency.
Anthropic's acquisition of multiple gigawatts through this deal, in addition to its existing capacity across various platforms, highlights the rapid emergence of AI as a major competitor for the energy infrastructure that miners rely on. The aggregate buildout of AI compute now represents one of the largest sources of new electricity demand in the United States, coinciding with bitcoin miners' decisions on whether to mine bitcoin or rent their infrastructure to AI companies. This decision is increasingly leaning towards 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 other companies.
The economics of mining are becoming less sustainable, with some companies opting to sell their bitcoin holdings. In contrast, renting infrastructure to AI companies offers a contracted rate with predictable cash flows, often proving more lucrative. While bitcoin mining is not dying, with the network's hashrate reaching record levels, the miners that survive the current cycle may evolve into infrastructure companies that mine bitcoin on the side while renting their primary asset – affordable power at scale – to the rapidly growing AI industry.