Overview
- Reports say Anthropic has signed its first Australian data‑centre lease for a Zerra DC‑planned campus with total planned capacity of 2.16 gigawatts.
- Sources describe the site as farmland about 250 km from Brisbane that would host inference workloads only and begin coming online in 2027.
- Zerra DC is said to plan renewable power purchase agreements and to use closed‑loop air‑cooling to cut fresh water needs while taking on grid connection costs.
- Anthropic and Zerra DC declined to comment and the arrangement remains subject to approval by Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board.
- The deal underscores pressure on regulators and local communities over land, water and electricity use and raises questions about financing and vendor exposure as firms lock large, long‑dated AI capacity.