Anthropic has committed $3.4 billion to secure gas-fired power generators for its expanding data center operations — the largest direct investment in power generation equipment made by an AI company to date, according to the Financial Times.

The deal covers 1.7 gigawatts of heavy-duty natural gas generators supplied by OnePWR Solutions, a San Antonio-based equipment supplier. As part of the transaction, Anthropic took over generator commitments that OnePWR had previously made with Caterpillar, and the arrangement includes the engineering and construction capabilities needed to install the equipment. The generators are expected to become available within the next two years.

The buyer’s identity had remained undisclosed until now. In late September, investment banking company Piper Sandler released a short memo saying it had served as financial advisor to OnePWR Solutions on the $3.4 billion sale of its power generation platform to a “frontier AI lab.”

The deal comes as Anthropic prepares for its initial public offering. The company filed its S-1 with the SEC in September. In the registration statement, Anthropic disclosed approximately $900.9 billion in aggregate committed spending on computing and infrastructure, a figure that includes purchase commitments and lease agreements. Of that amount, about $451.6 billion is expected to be spent before 2030, with most of the remaining commitments extending through 2045. According to the amended S-1 filed in November, another $70.7 billion is due within the 12 months following Sept. 30.

Anthropic is seeking a $1.3 trillion valuation, selling 825 million shares at a range of $70 to $78 apiece.

The S-1 also outlined key concerns for the company, among them gas-powered data centers. Anthropic warned that its dependence on natural gas could leave the data center buildout exposed to volatile prices.

“As data center operators increasingly rely on natural gas-fired generation, and because behind-the-meter and on-site arrangements are feasible only in some jurisdictions given the applicable regulatory frameworks, we expect increased competition among users for the same natural gas supply and pipeline capacity in those areas,” the filing read.

Anthropic and OnePWR Solutions did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fortune.

Looking for More Autonomy

The commitments outlined in Anthropic’s S-1 reflect the company’s effort to secure the computing capacity it needs to develop and operate its AI models. Its infrastructure strategy currently spans several technology suppliers, including Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Nvidia, and AMD.

The filing also describes a strategy called “Anthropic Direct,” under which the company can lease chips directly and place them in dedicated data centers on its behalf. According to the filing, the approach allows Anthropic to separate its “commitments for data center capacity” from its “commitments for the compute infrastructure deployed inside them.”

“Because data centers require longer lead times but represent a smaller fraction of total compute costs,” the S-1 reads, “this approach enables us to secure data center capacity early while deferring larger accelerator investments until our specific compute needs are more certain.”

The filing makes clear that electricity and power are becoming a major constraint on that expansion. Anthropic warned that transformers, turbines, generators, substations, and other electrical equipment can take years to procure, with manufacturers facing higher prices, tariffs, and limited production capacity. The company also acknowledged it may need to purchase long-lead-time power generation at prices above market rates.

Anthropic specifically disclosed that some planned data center facilities rely on dedicated natural gas-fired generation, exposing the company to fluctuations in fuel lines, pipeline capacity constraints, and disruptions to natural gas supplies.

The AI Boom Is Really a Power Boom

While Anthropic has just agreed to the largest deal for power generation equipment to date, it is not the only AI-focused company moving to secure its own power supply.

In December 2025, Alphabet — the parent company of Google — acquired energy developer Intersect Power for $4.75 billion. Intersect had been working with Google to colocate data centers with new electricity generation, and the deal gave Google greater control over how quickly it could bring new power generation online.

Elon Musk’s xAI also turned to natural gas turbines to power its Colossus data centers in Tennessee and Mississippi after existing grid connections could not provide sufficient power.

Meta has pursued on-site natural gas generation for its Ohio data center campus, working with energy infrastructure company Williams on a project worth approximately $1.6 billion in energy generation equipment, according to the Milken Institute.

Microsoft signed a 20-year agreement with Constellation Energy in September 2024 to purchase electricity from the Three Mile Island nuclear facility in Pennsylvania, a $16 billion deal.

Amazon has also pursued data center energy capacity through an agreement with Talen Energy for a nuclear-powered data center campus adjacent to the Susquehanna nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.

“We’re making the largest private sector investment in state history–$20 billion–to bring 1,250 high-skilled jobs and economic benefits to the state, while also collaborating with Talen Energy to help power our infrastructure with carbon-free energy,” said Kevin Miller, AWS Vice President of Global Data Centers, in a Talen Energy press release at the time.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.