Akamai Technologies (AKAM) has landed the largest contract in its history, signing a $1.8 billion, seven‑year cloud computing deal with Anthropic, Bloomberg reported. The deal will help the fast‑growing AI company secure the massive compute resources needed to train and run its Claude models. AKAM stock surged 27% on Friday.
Claim 55% Off TipRanks
- Unlock hedge fund-level data and powerful investing tools for smarter, sharper decisions
- Discover top-performing stock ideas and upgrade to a portfolio of market leaders with Smart Investor Picks
It must be noted that in its Q1 earnings release yesterday, Akamai disclosed the agreement, describing it only as a deal with a “leading frontier model provider.”
Anthropic Races to Secure Compute amid Explosive Growth
The deal comes as demand for Anthropic’s Claude AI is exploding. CEO Dario Amodei said the company saw 80x growth in annualized revenue and usage in Q1, creating an urgent need for more computing power.
Anthropic has been rapidly expanding its infrastructure partners. Along with Akamai, the company now relies on Google (GOOGL) for cloud and custom chips and recently signed a major deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceX to access its Colossus supercomputer.
Importantly, the Akamai deal would give Anthropic more flexibility as it scales its advanced models and expands enterprise adoption.
Akamai Pushes Deeper Into AI Infrastructure
For Akamai, the deal marks a key step in its push beyond core content delivery and cybersecurity. While those businesses still generate most of the company’s revenue, AKAM has been steadily expanding into cloud computing.
The $1.8 billion deal highlights how aggressively infrastructure providers are competing for long-term AI workloads. With hyperscalers running into capacity limits and AI companies racing to secure power, land, and GPUs, alternative cloud platforms such as Akamai are gaining momentum.
Is Akamai Stock a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
Turning to Wall Street, the analysts’ consensus rating for Akamai stock is Moderate Buy based on 11 Buy, seven Hold, and two Sell ratings over the past three months. The average AKAM stock price target of $148.06 implies a limited 0.23% upside potential.
