Meta Explores $10 Billion Cloud Deal With Anthropic as Stock Slips Amid Tech Rout

Meta is in advanced talks to supply Anthropic with up to $10B in AI computing capacity over two years, marking a strategic pivot into cloud services amid massive infrastructure spending and a tech rout.

Meta Platforms is in advanced talks to supply artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic with computing capacity worth up to $10 billion over two years, according to a New York Times report. Under the proposed arrangement, payments would be made monthly and both sides would retain exit clauses — a structure that underscores the experimental nature of Meta’s push into the so-called neocloud market. Anthropic initially floated the idea in June, though neither company has confirmed the deal publicly.

The potential agreement marks a strategic pivot for Meta, which has long derived nearly all its revenue from advertising. By renting out its massive AI infrastructure to external customers, the social-media giant would compete directly with specialized cloud providers such as CoreWeave and Nebius. Anthropic, meanwhile, is simultaneously exploring a compute contract with Microsoft using its own Maia chips and already holds a multibillion-dollar infrastructure agreement with SpaceX.

Meta’s capacity ambitions are staggering. The company is expanding a Louisiana data-center campus from 2 gigawatts to 5 gigawatts at a cost exceeding $50 billion, and it has committed $9 billion to a facility in Alberta, Canada. To oversee this buildout, Meta recently hired Dave Brown, a 19-year AWS veteran, to lead the “Meta Compute” initiative — the very unit that would manage external deals like the one with Anthropic. That spending comes with a price tag: Meta expects 2025 capital expenditures of $125 billion to $145 billion, while its 2026 capex range has been revised up to the same bracket, citing higher component prices and data-center costs.

BMO Capital analyst Brian Pitz, who rates the stock “Market Perform” with a $720 price target, pegs this year’s capex at roughly $140 billion. He acknowledges Meta’s operational strength — free cash flow over the past twelve months stands at $49.4 billion — but warns that the return on those AI investments remains murky. “There’s little visible payoff so far,” Pitz noted, pointing also to regulatory risks. His view echoes a broader unease: earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg admitted internally that AI-agent development has been slower than anticipated, fanning doubts about near-term monetization.

Those doubts collided with a global tech rout on Friday, sending Meta shares down 2.68% to €563.60 in German trading, trimming the week’s loss to roughly 3.9%. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slid about 11% over the same period, entering bear-market territory, as a weak Netflix outlook and geopolitical tensions — including frictions between the U.S. and Iran — sapped risk appetite. A new Chinese AI model from startup Moonshot, capable of competing with OpenAI and Anthropic systems, added to the narrative that U.S. tech dominance in artificial intelligence is not a given.

Still, the stock’s technical picture remains broadly intact. At €563.60, Meta trades above both its 50-day moving average of €523.33 and its 200-day average of €547.01, suggesting the medium-term uptrend has not broken despite the sharp daily decline. The share price is roughly 17% below its July 31 all-time high of €677.80 and about 25% above the March 52-week low of €452.10. The 30-day annualized volatility of nearly 49% reflects how sensitive the stock has become to any development that touches on AI spending and returns.

Adding to the noise, CFO Susan Li has sold approximately 148,800 Meta shares worth roughly $95 million over the past several months — transactions that fall within standard compensation programs but draw extra scrutiny given the capital intensity of the company’s AI strategy. Despite these headwinds, analysts are overwhelmingly bullish: the median price target stands well above current levels, with zero sell ratings among the consensus. The Anthropic negotiations will be closely watched as a real-world test of whether Meta can turn its infrastructure avalanche into a sustainable revenue stream beyond advertising.