October 13th 2026, 3:14 AM
Anthropic secures A$32 billion Queensland data center deal, pending FIRB approval
Key Summary
Anthropic has signed a lease for a 725-hectare data center campus in Queensland, Australia, with a projected total investment of A$31.9 billion to A$32 billion. The facility will focus on inference workloads, reducing the environmental footprint, and is expected to begin operations in 2027. The deal is pending approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), which is required before the project can proceed.
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What Anthropic actually signed
Anthropic, the company behind the Claude large language model, has signed its first data center lease in the country. The site sits near the towns of Dalby and Kogan in Queensland's Western Downs region. The lease covers the campus's initial phase. The broader project is led by Zerra DC, a Singapore-based developer. Its partners are Australian Data Centres, which is controlled by Dexus, and Macquarie Capital.How the deal came together
Anthropic and the Australian government signed a memorandum of understanding in April 2026, which began formal engagement under the country's National AI Plan. In July 2026, confidential tenders reportedly showed interest in securing at least 1.4 GW of total capacity. The arrangement also includes collaboration with Australia's AI Safety Institute on evaluations. The deal still requires approval from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board, or FIRB. Until that sign-off arrives, the project remains contingent.#Australia#DataCenter#AI#FIRB