Anthropic Signs $1.8 Billion AI Cloud Deal with Akamai

AI startup Anthropic has signed a $1.8 billion cloud computing deal with Akamai Technologies, according to Bloomberg News.

Akamai shares surged 25% on Thursday following the announcement of a long-term cloud deal with a frontier model provider. In regular trading Friday, the stock was up about 28% at $149.05.

Both companies declined to comment on the deal. Akamai forecast second-quarter revenue between $1.08 billion and $1.10 billion, slightly below analyst estimates of $1.10 billion.

CEO Tom Leighton told Reuters the company is well-positioned to secure CPUs and GPUs despite rising component prices.

Separately, Anthropic also reached a deal to access computing resources from Elon Musk's SpaceX.