In a significant move within the technology landscape, Anthropic has forged a partnership with Google and Broadcom to secure “multiple gigawatts” of next-generation Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) compute capacity. This capacity is expected to begin coming online in 2027. The collaboration marks a pivotal shift for Anthropic, which recently reported an impressive acceleration in revenue growth, achieving a $30 billion annual run rate, a substantial rise from $9 billion at the close of 2025.
The scale of demand for AI compute power is increasingly vying with bitcoin mining for essential resources, including grid connections, land permits, cooling infrastructures, and affordable electricity. A recent assessment from a Cambridge tracker indicates that bitcoin mining consumes approximately 13 to 25 gigawatts of continuous global power, depending on the efficiency of the hardware in use.
Anthropic’s ability to secure multiple gigawatts through this single agreement—complementing its existing capacities across AWS Trainium, Google TPUs, and Nvidia GPUs—underscores the rapid ascent of AI as a legitimate competitor for the energy infrastructure traditionally utilized by bitcoin miners. This competitive landscape is further highlighted by OpenAI, which has recently raised $122 billion and emphasized compute as a “strategic moat,” expanding its infrastructure portfolio across five cloud providers and four chip platforms.
The surge in AI compute demand is now being recognized as one of the largest contributors to new electricity requirements in the United States. This trend arrives at a critical juncture, as bitcoin miners weigh their options between continuing bitcoin mining operations and repurposing their infrastructures for AI enterprises. This transition is becoming increasingly apparent, as firms like Core Scientific have shifted substantial portions of their mining capacity to AI hosting through a partnership with CoreWeave. Other companies, including Iris Energy and Hut 8, have broadened their revenue streams by expanding into AI and high-performance computing.
The financial dynamics are shifting as well. Companies such as Riot Platforms, Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA), and Genius Group recently reported selling over 19,000 Bitcoin from their treasuries, indicating that current bitcoin mining economics are under strain and not enough to sustain operations amidst rising energy costs and market pressures.
For bitcoin miners, revenue from a gigawatt of capacity remains contingent on fluctuating bitcoin prices and network difficulty levels. In contrast, the same capacity leased to an AI company can generate stable, predictable cash flows through predetermined contracts. Given current market conditions—with bitcoin prices hovering around $69,000 and network difficulty reaching all-time highs—AI hosting often proves to be the more lucrative option.
The expansion of Anthropic reflects broader industry trends, as the number of business customers investing more than $1 million annually in its Claude AI models has doubled in a remarkably short time, growing from 500 to over 1,000 in less than two months.
While these developments do not signal the demise of bitcoin mining, the landscape is evolving. The network’s hashrate continues to achieve record levels, surpassing one zetahash per second. However, the future of surviving bitcoin miners may see a shift away from traditional energy production models towards a more hybrid approach, functioning as infrastructure companies that also mine bitcoin while leveraging their access to low-cost power for the burgeoning AI sector.
