Anthropic has been identified as the customer for Rum Group’s substantial $13.7 billion computing contract, which spans six years. This news was reported by The Information, highlighting Anthropic’s ongoing pursuit of compute capacity. Although neither Anthropic nor Rum Group confirmed the report at the time, it reflects a continued trend in significant computing agreements for Anthropic, which has previously partnered with companies like Google, SpaceX, and smaller providers such as Nscale. Collectively, these contracts represent over 14.8GW of capacity, potentially costing up to $517 billion over the next ten years.
In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on August 24, Rum Group described the contract as involving GPU access and services from their yet-to-be-completed Georgia facility. The contract stipulates the purchases will occur in three equal installments, with one contingent on Anthropic’s approval of a proposed delivery date. Additionally, Rum Group granted Anthropic warrants to purchase up to 50.8 million shares at a nominal price, with vesting conditions based on the completion of GPU services.
Despite the monumental contract, Rum Group has indicated it currently lacks the financing necessary to fulfill its obligations under the agreement. The company plans to secure funds through debt or equity, cautioning that such financing may dilute existing shareholders. There is also uncertainty regarding the operational timeline for the Maysville site, which was initially expected to be open this year.
The transition of Rum Group from a video platform, notably Rumble, to a cloud service provider was marked by their recent acquisition of Northern Data, a firm specializing in AI cloud services. This acquisition expanded Rum Group’s capabilities significantly, including access to thousands of Nvidia GPUs, and rebranded its cloud operation as Quake AI.
Anthropic, meanwhile, continues to prepare for an IPO, having selected Nasdaq for its listing, potentially as soon as this October.
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