Iren (NASDAQ:IREN) shares climbed 5% in premarket trading on Monday following a report that the data centre operator had signed a multi-year agreement to provide artificial intelligence cloud computing services to Anthropic.
According to The Information, the reported agreement would give Anthropic access to additional high-performance computing infrastructure as the AI developer expands its operations and prepares for a potential initial public offering.
The arrangement would also represent a significant commercial development for Iren, demonstrating its ability to provide and operate large-scale computing facilities designed to support demanding AI workloads.
Anthropic currently relies on major cloud providers, including Amazon and Google, for computing capacity. The reported agreement with Iren would allow the company to secure additional clusters of graphics processing units (GPUs), which are used to train and operate advanced AI models.
The Information said the arrangement could provide Anthropic with greater flexibility in sourcing computing resources while potentially reducing infrastructure costs compared with relying exclusively on major public cloud providers.
Access to additional GPU capacity could also help Anthropic manage the computing requirements associated with developing new AI models and expanding its services, particularly as the company considers a future stock market listing.
Iren’s infrastructure includes data centres and access to power supplies, allowing it to offer computing capacity to customers seeking alternatives to traditional cloud providers.
According to the report, using third-party infrastructure operators could help Anthropic control research and operating expenditure as demand for AI computing resources continues to increase.
The financial implications could be particularly relevant ahead of a potential initial public offering, when investors are expected to examine Anthropic’s operating losses, gross margins and the costs associated with developing and deploying its AI models.
Lower computing expenses could support improvements in those financial measures, although the extent of any savings would depend on the commercial terms and utilisation of the infrastructure.
The reported agreement also highlights demand for specialist data centre operators capable of supplying high-performance computing infrastructure to AI developers.
Financial terms, the amount of computing capacity involved and the implementation schedule were not disclosed in the supplied report.
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