Anthropic Signs $19B, 20-Year Data Center Lease with TeraWulf in Kentucky

Quick Facts

• Anthropic signed a 20-year lease worth approximately $19 billion for TeraWulf’s 401 MW Justified Data campus in Hawesville, Kentucky.
• The campus, built on a former aluminum smelter site, is expected to begin delivering capacity in the second half of 2027 and reach full 401 MW by early 2028.
• TeraWulf shares climbed as much as 18% on the announcement, and the deal’s contracted revenue exceeds the company’s roughly $12 billion market value.

Anthropic has agreed to lease a 401 MW AI data center campus from TeraWulf Inc. for 20 years at an expected contracted revenue of approximately $19 billion. TeraWulf filed the details in an SEC Form 8-K on July 6, 2026.

The facility, called the Justified Data campus, sits on a 790-acre site in Hawesville, Kentucky. TeraWulf acquired the property from Century Aluminum in February 2026 for $200 million. Century Aluminum retained a non-controlling minority equity stake in the redevelopment.

The former aluminum smelter came with existing power transmission and fiber-optic infrastructure already on site. That head start allows TeraWulf to bypass multi-year utility interconnection queues. Initial capacity is set for delivery in the second half of 2027, with the campus ramping to 401 MW by early 2028.

The Economics

TeraWulf plans to invest between $3 billion and $4 billion to build the campus. Against $19 billion in contracted lease revenue, that implies a return of nearly five times the construction cost. The implied annual rate of roughly $950 million per year for 401 MW sets a new benchmark for what AI companies will pay for dedicated large-scale infrastructure.

The deal dwarfs TeraWulf’s recent operating results. The company posted just $34 million in revenue last quarter. The 401 MW Anthropic commitment also effectively doubles TeraWulf’s total contracted load in a single transaction, based on the company’s Q1 investor presentation showing 522 MW of contracted capacity across its entire platform.

Anthropic’s payment obligations begin when each phase is delivered and run for the full 20-year initial term. Anthropic also holds two successive five-year renewal options, extending potential tenancy through approximately 2047.

Executive and Analyst Reaction

TeraWulf CEO Paul Prager said the timing of the announcement reflected the completion of final documentation. “The Anthropic lease validates our strategy and establishes a long-duration revenue stream with one of the world’s leading AI companies,” Prager said.

Citi analyst Michael Rollins, who initiated coverage of TeraWulf with a Buy rating and a $36 price target, noted that the company is targeting 250 MW to 500 MW of new data center capacity annually by converting industrial sites with existing grid access into AI facilities. Rollins cited execution and funding risks but said the valuation does not yet reflect the company’s multi-year growth opportunities. Bernstein separately carries an Outperform rating with a $46 price target.

Campus Design and Side Transactions

The Justified Data campus is designed as a clean technology site. TeraWulf says it will feature closed-loop liquid cooling with zero chemical discharge and zero direct greenhouse gas emissions. The primary workloads are AI model training and enterprise-scale inference.

Separately, TeraWulf struck a deal to sell its 50.1% ownership interest in the Abernathy Joint Venture to an investor group led by Fluidstack. TeraWulf said the transaction monetizes roughly $450 million in invested capital at a premium and frees funds for wholly owned infrastructure projects.

TeraWulf shares rose as much as 18% on the announcement before closing up approximately 4.8% near $22.21. Shares of other AI infrastructure companies including CoreWeave, IREN, Hut 8, and Riot Platforms also advanced on the news.

Read more: Anthropic inks $19B AI data center lease with TeraWulf