Anthropic signs first Australian data centre lease for 2.16 GW campus near Brisbane, due 2027
anthropic
| Source: Techmeme | Original article
AI firm Anthropic has signed its first Australian data‑center lease for a 2.16 GW campus about 150 miles from Brisbane, slated to be operational in 2027.
Anthropic has sealed its first data‑centre lease in Australia, committing to a 2.16 GW campus roughly 150 miles west of Brisbane that is slated to be operational by 2027. The agreement, confirmed by two sources familiar with the deal, ties the San Francisco‑based AI safety firm to Queensland’s Western Downs Digital Park – the nation’s largest data‑centre project – and is being built by Singapore’s Zerra DC.
The site, earmarked for former farmland, will draw on the region’s abundant renewable‑energy supply, a factor highlighted by the company as a key incentive. The campus, valued at about $31.9 billion, is expected to host inference workloads for Anthropic’s Claude models as early as next year, according to local media. Premier David Crisafulli framed the development as a direct payoff from a recent U.S. trade mission, underscoring the political goodwill surrounding large‑scale AI infrastructure in Australia.
As we reported on 16 September 2026, Anthropic had already announced a partnership to use a Queensland data centre worth roughly $32 billion. This lease marks the next concrete step, moving the project from a high‑level agreement to a binding commitment for capacity and timeline.
The move reinforces Australia’s growing role in the global AI supply chain, offering a low‑carbon, high‑capacity hub for Western AI firms. It also signals intensified competition among cloud providers to secure renewable‑powered compute for generative‑AI workloads.
Watch for further details on the construction schedule, the proportion of renewable energy that will power the campus, and any additional partnerships Anthropic may forge with local utilities or research institutions as the 2027 launch approaches. The rollout will also test how quickly Australian regulators can adapt to the rapid expansion of AI‑focused data infrastructure.
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