Archive · 16 Sep 2026
Anthropic Signs Lease for Massive Australian AI Data Centre
Anthropic is an artificial intelligence company that has agreed to use space in a very large data centre in Australia.
The centre is planned for farmland about 250 kilometres from Brisbane.
It could eventually use 2.16 gigawatts of electricity, which is an enormous amount.
Parts of the centre are expected to start operating in 2027.
The facility will mainly help AI systems answer users’ requests, rather than train new AI models.
Its developer plans to obtain electricity through renewable-energy agreements.
It will also use air cooling in a closed loop to reduce water use.
Australia wants the investment but communities are concerned about the land, water and electricity that data centres need.
The deal comes while technology leaders are debating how quickly AI should develop.
Anthropic signed its first Australian data centre lease with Singapore-based developer Zerra DC.
The planned campus near Brisbane would have 2.16 gigawatts of capacity and could begin operating in 2027.
The project is intended for AI inference workloads and will use renewable power agreements and closed-loop air cooling.
Australia is attracting AI infrastructure investment because of its renewable energy resources and less-congested markets.
The government is balancing investment opportunities with community concerns about data centres’ land, water and electricity use.
- Who
- Anthropic signed the lease with Singapore-based data centre developer Zerra DC.
- What
- The agreement provides Anthropic with capacity at a planned Australian data centre campus totaling 2.16 gigawatts.
- When
- The facility is expected to begin coming online in 2027; the articles do not give the signing date.
- Where
- On farmland about 250 kilometres from Brisbane, Australia.
- Why
- Anthropic is securing computing capacity in a country presented as having abundant renewable energy and less-congested markets.
Expansion and investment
Caution over resources and AI risks
Australian data centre growth
Expansion and investment
Authorities and industry see Australia’s renewable energy resources and available land as opportunities to attract major AI infrastructure investment.
Caution over resources and AI risks
Communities have raised concerns about data centres’ demands for land, water and electricity, prompting the government to plan restrictions on resource use from 2027.
Speed of AI development
Expansion and investment
The lease reflects Anthropic’s continued effort to secure infrastructure for expanding AI services and inference workloads.
Caution over resources and AI risks
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, along with Elon Musk and Sam Altman, has urged caution or a slower pace of AI capability development because of possible misuse; Donald Trump has dismissed such warnings as exaggerated.
- Planned capacity
- 2.16 gigawatts
- Expected initial operations
- 2027
- Location
- Farmland roughly 250 kilometres from Brisbane
- Developer
- Zerra DC, a Singapore-based developer
- Primary workload
- AI inference rather than model training
- Cooling system
- Closed-loop, air-cooled system intended to limit water use
- Estimated Australian sector investment
- Economists estimate data centre investment could reach A$150 billion by 2030