Anthropic, SpaceX Strike Data Center Deal to Power Claude Code
SAN FRANCISCO — Anthropic has reached an infrastructure deal with SpaceX that includes leasing a Memphis, Tennessee, data center to expand compute capacity for Claude Code, the AI company’s developer tool, according to multiple reports published Tuesday.
Under the agreement, SpaceX will rent a Memphis data center facility to Anthropic as part of what The Commercial Appeal described as a “big AI tie-up” between the two companies. The deal also includes exploration of space-based data center infrastructure, according to MarketWatch.
The deal pairs Anthropic, the San Francisco-based AI safety lab valued at $61.5 billion, with SpaceX, Elon Musk’s Hawthorne, California-based aerospace firm, in a cross-sector arrangement reflecting competition for AI compute resources.
Infrastructure Demand
The deal comes as leading AI companies face mounting pressure to secure data center capacity amid surging demand for compute-intensive products. Claude Code, Anthropic’s AI-powered coding assistant that operates directly in developers’ terminals, has emerged as a key growth driver for the company and a direct competitor to similar tools from OpenAI, Google and Microsoft-backed GitHub.
Memphis, a logistics hub with access to affordable power and cooling infrastructure along the Mississippi River, has attracted growing interest from data center operators in recent years. The city’s central geographic location and established power grid make it a strategic site for AI workloads that require massive computational resources.
Cross-Sector Dynamics
WIRED characterized the arrangement as evidence that “the AI race turns weird,” noting the growing convergence between artificial intelligence and aerospace sectors.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI before departing and later launching his own AI venture xAI, has been both a competitor and critic of Anthropic and other leading AI labs. A business relationship between his rocket company and one of OpenAI’s chief rivals adds to the shifting corporate relationships across the AI industry.
SpaceX’s involvement in AI infrastructure also raises questions about potential defense and government contracting implications, as both companies hold or seek contracts with U.S. federal agencies.
Industry Context
The agreement is the latest in a series of major infrastructure moves by top AI labs. Microsoft has committed more than $80 billion to data center construction in the current fiscal year. Google, Amazon and Meta have each announced multibillion-dollar compute expansion plans. Anthropic itself closed a $2 billion funding round from Google in 2023 and has continued raising capital to fund its infrastructure needs.
The space-based data center component, while still exploratory, reflects growing industry interest in alternative computing environments. Proponents argue that orbital facilities could offer advantages in cooling efficiency and access to solar power, though significant engineering and cost barriers remain.
Financial terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed.
