Google backstops Anthropic's $19B Kentucky rent — and locks Claude onto Google chips

TeraWulf disclosed on November 4 that Google has agreed to backstop Anthropic's rent on a 20-year, 401-megawatt lease at the Justified Data Campus in Hawesville, Kentucky — about $19 billion in contracted lease commitments. If Anthropic defaults or becomes insolvent, Google will pay the rent and can assume the lease or pay a termination fee.

The guarantee has a price buried in the credit agreement: the tenant “shall use only Google-approved tensor processing units for accelerator processors in the Premises.” The backstop ends once Anthropic holds investment-grade ratings for three months, and the data halls are not due to come online until late 2027 through mid-2028.