Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) said after Thursday’s close that it has signed an $11.6 billion, seven-year cloud infrastructure agreement with Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company behind the Claude models. The contract, which Akamai says will support Anthropic’s CPU workloads on Akamai Cloud, is the largest customer commitment the company has disclosed. It also comes with a warrant that could give Anthropic up to about 5% of Akamai. Shares were up sharply in Friday premarket trading.
This Akamai Anthropic cloud deal article covers what was announced, what the warrant involves, how the contract compares with Akamai’s existing business, and the dates investors can track next.
Akamai Anthropic Cloud Deal: What Was Announced
According to Akamai’s press release, issued at 4:01 p.m. ET on Sept. 24, 2026, the key terms are:
- Contracted value: $11.6 billion over seven years for cloud infrastructure services supporting Anthropic’s CPU workloads.
- Optional expansion: Anthropic may commit up to an additional $9 billion, which would bring the total to roughly $20.6 billion. This part is not contracted.
- Capital spending: Akamai estimates about $5.5 billion in capital expenditures to deliver the $11.6 billion commitment. It includes a roughly $1.7 billion increase to 2026 capex, mainly to secure supply-chain components, including memory.
- Guidance: Akamai said the agreement has no impact on its 2026 revenue guidance.
The warrant: up to about 5% of Akamai
As part of the agreement, Akamai issued Anthropic a warrant for non-voting convertible preferred stock. On an as-converted basis, it covers up to about 7.7 million shares, or roughly 5% of Akamai’s common stock outstanding, at an exercise price of $111.33 per share. According to the company:
- About 2% vests in connection with the current $11.6 billion commitment.
- The remaining ~3% vests only if Anthropic makes additional purchases, with about 1% vesting for each extra $3 billion, up to the $9 billion expansion.
| Term | Detail (per Akamai) |
|---|---|
| Contract length | 7 years |
| Committed value | $11.6 billion |
| Optional expansion | Up to $9 billion more |
| Estimated related capex | ~$5.5 billion (incl. ~$1.7 billion added to 2026) |
| Warrant size | Up to ~7.7 million shares (~5%) |
| Exercise price | $111.33 per share |
| 2026 revenue guidance | Unchanged |
What the company said
Akamai CEO and co-founder Dr. Tom Leighton said in the release: “Anthropic is advancing the AI revolution and we are thrilled they chose Akamai’s capabilities for building and operating AI infrastructure at scale.” (Company statement.) Akamai’s release did not include a statement from Anthropic, and it did not give a deployment timeline or site locations.
Market Reaction
The deal was announced after a weak regular session. Akamai shares fell 6.78% on Sept. 24 to close at $110.41, according to market data reported by The Cryptonomist. After the announcement, TechNode reported the stock rose about 22% in extended trading. MarketScreener reported a premarket gain of about 22% to around $134.85 early Friday. Premarket and after-hours prices can change significantly before and during the regular session.
Analyst actions (reported)
Several brokerages updated their views after the announcement, according to Investing.com and Tradingpedia. These are third-party opinions, reported here for context only. Vanderbiltreport.com does not endorse them.
- UBS kept a Neutral rating and moved its price target from $143 to $148. Analyst Roger Boyd noted the upside to growth but also pointed to margin and free-cash-flow pressure as commitments ramp up.
- TD Cowen set a $149 target with a Hold rating. It said the win underscores compute scarcity in the current AI infrastructure cycle.
- JPMorgan reportedly upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underweight.
- Guggenheim (Buy) and Piper Sandler reportedly raised their targets.
Company Background: Akamai Technologies
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Akamai became known for content delivery. Today it earns most of its revenue from cybersecurity and has been growing a newer cloud computing business. In its second-quarter 2026 results (reported Aug. 6), Akamai posted:
| Segment (Q2 2026) | Revenue | Year-over-year |
|---|---|---|
| Security | $604 million | +10% |
| Delivery & Other Cloud Apps | $396 million | -6% |
| Cloud Infrastructure Services (CIS) | $99 million | +39% |
| Total | $1.10 billion | +5% |
In the same report, Akamai guided to full-year 2026 revenue of $4.445 billion to $4.530 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $6.40 to $7.05. It said it had signed more than $2.8 billion of multi-year CIS commitments so far in 2026, including a $600 million four-year contract with a U.S. technology company.
Not the first Anthropic-linked commitment
In May, Akamai disclosed that “a leading frontier model provider” had committed $1.8 billion over seven years to its cloud infrastructure services. Akamai did not name the customer at the time. Media outlets, including Bloomberg, later reported that it was Anthropic, as Stocktwits summarized. Thursday’s agreement is the first time Akamai has named Anthropic as a customer in its own announcement.
Why It Matters: Business Significance
Verified figures: The $11.6 billion contract spans seven years, which works out to about $1.66 billion a year on a simple straight-line basis. For comparison, Akamai’s CIS segment brought in $99 million in Q2 2026. Akamai has not said how revenue from the contract will be recognized over time.
Analysis (Vanderbiltreport.com): The deal is meaningful for three reasons:
- Scale relative to the company. On its own, the contracted value is more than twice Akamai’s full-year 2026 revenue guidance.
- A different kind of AI demand. Most AI infrastructure coverage focuses on GPU clusters. Akamai describes this contract as supporting CPU workloads on a distributed network. That suggests large AI developers are also buying general-purpose compute beyond the largest hyperscale clouds.
- Heavy capital needs. Estimated capex of $5.5 billion, plus a $1.7 billion increase to this year’s spending for components such as memory, means Akamai is spending ahead of the revenue. Analysts quoted above flagged margin and free-cash-flow effects as the main trade-offs.
Market Context
The announcement came during a difficult week for rate-sensitive stocks. The 10-year Treasury yield rose above 5%, its highest level since 2007, as Semafor reported. Also on Thursday, Oracle shares fell after the company issued a force majeure notice on its Project Jupiter data center in New Mexico, according to Yahoo Finance. Taken together, the two stories show both sides of the AI infrastructure buildout: very large new contracts, and the construction, financing and supply-chain risks involved in delivering them.
What to Watch Next
- SEC filings: An 8-K and the warrant documents, which may give fuller detail on vesting mechanics and any other conditions.
- Q3 2026 earnings: Akamai’s next quarterly report, typically in early November, is expected to update its capex outlook and CIS commitments. Akamai has not yet announced the date.
- Deployment milestones: Any disclosure of when capacity for Anthropic comes online. The company has not yet given this detail.
- Expansion tranches: Whether Anthropic uses any part of the optional $9 billion. Each $3 billion would vest about 1% more of the warrant.
Key Takeaways
- Akamai signed an $11.6 billion, seven-year agreement with Anthropic for CPU cloud workloads, with an option for up to $9 billion more.
- Anthropic received a warrant for up to ~5% of Akamai at $111.33 per share. About 2% vests now, and the rest depends on expansion.
- Akamai expects about $5.5 billion of related capex and left its 2026 revenue guidance unchanged.
- The stock rose sharply in after-hours and premarket trading after falling during Thursday’s regular session.
Disclosure note: Anthropic, a party to this agreement, develops the Claude AI models. This article is based on the public sources linked above.
This is a developing story. Figures are as reported by the company and the cited outlets at the time of writing (early Friday, Sept. 25, 2026), and may be updated.
Publisher Disclaimer: Vanderbiltreport.com publishes news and information for general informational and educational purposes. Information is compiled from sources believed to be reliable, but Vanderbiltreport.com does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of all information presented. Readers should independently verify information and conduct their own research before making financial, investment, business, or other decisions.
