---
title: "Akamai's $11.6 billion Anthropic deal spends now and pays first in late 2027"
description: "Akamai's largest-ever contract loads $1.7 billion of extra capex into 2026, adds nothing to 2026 revenue and pays first in the second half of 2027, while its warrant hands Anthropic up to 5% of the company as it spends. The November 5 earnings call is the first test of who actually pays."
publisher: "The Inference"
section: "Deals"
published: 2026-10-08T22:55:10.842Z
modified: 2026-10-08T22:55:10.842Z
canonical: https://theinference.org/article/akamai-s-11-6-billion-anthropic-deal-spends-now-and-pays-first-in-late-2027
language: en
keywords: "Akamai, Anthropic, Cloud Computing, Capex, Warrants, Earnings"
---

# Akamai's $11.6 billion Anthropic deal spends now and pays first in late 2027

> Akamai's largest-ever contract loads $1.7 billion of extra capex into 2026, adds nothing to 2026 revenue and pays first in the second half of 2027, while its warrant hands Anthropic up to 5% of the company as it spends. The November 5 earnings call is the first test of who actually pays.

## The bill lands two years before the revenue

[Akamai reports third-quarter results on Thursday, November 5](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AKAM/) [1]. Holders are pricing a contract that spends now and pays later: roughly $1.7 billion added to 2026 capital spending to pre-purchase memory, no change to 2026 revenue guidance, and first revenue of $150 million to $300 million only when services ramp in the second half of 2027 [2][3]. [Akamai](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001086222) does not expect the deal to be profitable this year [3].

The contract, announced September 24, is the [largest in the company's 28-year history](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/akamai-announces-11-6-billion-200100248.html): $11.6 billion over seven years from [Anthropic](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/anthropic) to run its CPU workloads on [Akamai Cloud](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/akamai), expandable by up to $9 billion to roughly $20 billion [2][4]. Attached is a [warrant on non-voting preferred stock convertible into 7.7 million Akamai shares](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/anthropic-signs-116-billion-cloud-deal-with-akamai-gets-warrant-for-up-to-5-stake/ar-AA2cV4CU), about 5% of the company, at $111.33 each [2]. About 2% vests on signature; every further $3 billion Anthropic commits vests about 1% more [2][4].

## Seven years of capex in one signature

Total capex for the commitment is estimated at about $5.5 billion, against quarterly capital spending that has ranged from $0.16 billion to $0.23 billion for two years [2][5]. Full exercise of the warrant would bring in about $860 million, 7.7 million shares at the strike, under a sixth of the bill [2]. Akamai held $3.36 billion of total cash at its last quarter [1]; all other customers combined brought just over $2.8 billion of multi-year cloud commitments this year [2]. The $111.33 strike sits about 10% above the October 8 close of $100.90 [1][2].

*Chart: **The Anthropic commitment is nearly seven times Akamai's annual capex** Column chart of Akamai's quarterly capital expenditure from Q3 2024 to Q2 2026, every bar between $0.16 billion and $0.23 billion, with a reference line at $1.7 billion marking the capex the Anthropic deal adds to 2026*

*Quarterly capital expenditure in billions of US dollars, from Akamai's reported SEC filings; the reference line marks the roughly $1.7 billion the Anthropic commitment adds to 2026 capex, with total deal capex estimated at about $5.5 billion. Sources: Akamai SEC filings [5]; Akamai announcement [2]. [5][2]*

## Every supplier is an Anthropic creditor

Anthropic's draft IPO filing, circulating as the lab seeks a valuation near $2 trillion, shows what Akamai has joined: [at least $518 billion of compute commitments over a decade across six partners](https://www.trendforce.com/news/2026/09/30/news-anthropic-eyes-2t-ipo-valuation-518b-ai-buildout-spans-amazon-google-broadcom-and-more/), about 80% of it non-cancelable or payable regardless of usage [6]. Google is owed at least $111.1 billion through July 2033, [Amazon](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/amazon) $110 billion through April 2036 and [Microsoft](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/microsoft) $31.4 billion, on top of $161.2 billion of largely non-cancelable [Broadcom](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/broadcom) equipment leases [6][7]. Amazon [carries its $18 billion Anthropic stake at about $190 billion](https://marketiv.app/news/anthropic-owes-amazon-110-billion-in-cloud-deal-draft-ipo-filing-shows-02102026) [8]. Anthropic's [2025 revenue rose twelvefold to nearly $4.6 billion, against a $42 billion net loss](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/anthropics-ipo-filing-reveals-a-staggering-ai-bet/ar-AA2diinb) [7]; Akamai's trailing-year revenue is $4.32 billion [1].

*Chart: **Akamai is the smallest named holder of Anthropic paper** Bar chart ranking Anthropic's committed infrastructure spending by supplier: Broadcom leases $161.2B, Google $111.1B, Amazon $110B, Microsoft $31.4B, and Akamai $11.6B highlighted at the bottom*

*Committed infrastructure spend by supplier, in billions of US dollars, from Anthropic's draft IPO filing: Google, Amazon and Microsoft over seven-to-ten-year windows payable regardless of usage; Broadcom in largely non-cancelable equipment leases. Akamai's $11.6 billion contract sits outside the filing. Sources: TrendForce [6]; TheStreet [7]; Akamai announcement [2]. [6][7][2]*

## The bull case, stated fairly

Seven years of contracted demand is rare for a company growing revenue about 5% year over year [5]. DA Davidson kept its Buy rating and $150 target after the announcement; Morningstar reads this as Akamai's [second cloud-computing deal with Anthropic](https://theinference.org/article/akamai-signed-an-11-6-billion-deal-with-a-customer-that-lost-42-billion-last-year), a deliberate pivot rather than a one-off [1]. What is not disclosed: whether Anthropic owes the $11.6 billion regardless of usage, when the revenue is recognized, or the margin Akamai keeps over seven years.

## November 5 is the first print of the bet

Three numbers set the call: capex against the $1.7 billion promise, any debt or equity raised against the $3.36 billion cash pile, and language on the 2027 ramp. Anthropic is reported to be targeting an IPO as early as mid-November [1], which would put the first public price on the counterparty every supplier on that ledger is underwriting. Akamai builds the machines; Anthropic holds the paper and a slice of the landlord.

## Takeaway

Akamai loads $1.7 billion of extra 2026 capex for revenue that starts only in late 2027, while a warrant hands Anthropic up to 5% of the company as it spends; the November 5 call is the first print on who actually pays.

## Sources

1. [Yahoo Finance, AKAM quote, statistics and research page, accessed 8 October 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AKAM/)
2. [Akamai Technologies press release via GlobeNewswire on Yahoo Finance, 'Akamai Announces $11.6 Billion Multi-year Agreement with Anthropic to Support Growing Demand', 24 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/akamai-announces-11-6-billion-200100248.html)
3. [Proactive Investors via Yahoo Finance, 'Akamai signs $11.6 billion cloud deal with Anthropic', 25 September 2026](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/akamai-signs-11-6-billion-133000282.html)
4. [Reuters via MSN, 'Anthropic signs $11.6 billion cloud deal with Akamai, gets warrant for up to 5% stake', 24 September 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/anthropic-signs-116-billion-cloud-deal-with-akamai-gets-warrant-for-up-to-5-stake/ar-AA2cV4CU)
5. [Akamai, quarterly figures from its SEC filings, retrieved 8 October 2026](https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001086222)
6. [TrendForce News, 'Anthropic Eyes $2T IPO Valuation, $518B AI Buildout Spans Amazon, Google, Broadcom, and More', 30 September 2026](https://www.trendforce.com/news/2026/09/30/news-anthropic-eyes-2t-ipo-valuation-518b-ai-buildout-spans-amazon-google-broadcom-and-more/)
7. [TheStreet via MSN, 'Anthropic's IPO filing reveals a staggering AI bet', 30 September 2026](https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/general/anthropics-ipo-filing-reveals-a-staggering-ai-bet/ar-AA2diinb)
8. [MarketIV, 'Anthropic Owes Amazon $110 Billion in Cloud Deal, Draft IPO Filing Shows', 2 October 2026](https://marketiv.app/news/anthropic-owes-amazon-110-billion-in-cloud-deal-draft-ipo-filing-shows-02102026)


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Akamai's $11.6 billion Anthropic deal spends now and pays first in late 2027 — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/akamai-s-11-6-billion-anthropic-deal-spends-now-and-pays-first-in-late-2027