Google Will Backstop Anthropic's $19B of Kentucky Leases With TeraWulf, Covering Rent if Anthropic Defaults
TeraWulf said on November 4 that Google signed credit support agreements behind about $19 billion of Anthropic leases at its Hawesville, Kentucky campus, to help TeraWulf raise project debt. Its 8-K says that if Anthropic misses rent or becomes insolvent, Google can pay the rent and take over the lease or pay a termination fee. The backstop ends once Anthropic holds investment-grade ratings for three months. TeraWulf also signed Fluor to build three buildings.
Google is now standing behind the rent Anthropic owes on one of its biggest data-center leases, which tells you how lenders price an AI lab that is not yet investment grade. TeraWulf said on November 4 that Google LLC signed credit support agreements tied to debt financing for about $19 billion of contracted Anthropic lease commitments at its Justified Data Campus in Hawesville, Kentucky.
What Google agreed to#
TeraWulf's 8-K says three Credit Support Agreements, one for each building, were signed by Google, Anthropic and TeraWulf subsidiaries. Under them Google agreed to backstop certain Anthropic obligations under the 20-year leases signed in July, which cover about 401 MW of critical IT load.
If Anthropic misses a payment or becomes insolvent, Google can pay the rent due and take over the lease as tenant, or in certain circumstances pay a termination fee that entitles it to an equity interest in the TeraWulf subsidiary that owns the leases. After a payment default, Google may also delay that choice for a set period while it keeps paying rent. The termination fee shrinks over a defined term.
The backstop takes effect only when the final data hall under each lease begins, and it ends under conditions that include Anthropic, or an affiliate guaranteeing its leases, holding certain investment-grade credit ratings for at least three months. Anthropic and Raylan, the TeraWulf subsidiary, also amended the leases on November 4; the 8-K does not give the new terms.
Why lenders care#
TeraWulf says the support is for anticipated debt financing and notes that Alphabet's senior unsecured debt is rated AA+ by S&P and Aa2 by Moody's. "Cost of capital is fundamental to infrastructure development," CFO Patrick Fleury said. Reuters, via CNA, called it the latest example of big tech companies providing multibillion-dollar backstops to help smaller AI infrastructure firms fund the build-out. Anthropic's own amended S-1 warns that partners who depend on third-party financing or credit support could delay or fail to deliver contracted capacity.
TeraWulf also signed a definitive engineering, procurement and construction agreement with Fluor for three buildings, with guaranteed maximum pricing still being set. Phased handovers are expected from late 2027 through the second quarter of 2028. TeraWulf shares were down about 3% in premarket trading, Reuters reported.
Limits#
- Neither Google nor Anthropic had commented publicly when we published. The deal terms come from TeraWulf's 8-K and press release.
- The filing does not disclose the size of the termination fee, the length of the deferral period or the amount of debt TeraWulf plans to raise.
- The ratings test that ends the backstop is described only as "certain investment grade credit ratings".
Sources#
- SEC EDGAR: TeraWulf Inc. Form 8-K (November 4, 2026)
- TeraWulf: TeraWulf Secures Google Credit Backstop for Project Financing in Support of $19 Billion Anthropic Lease; Executes Definitive Fluor EPC Agreement (November 4, 2026)
- Reuters via CNA: TeraWulf gets credit backstop from Google for Anthropic data-center project (November 4, 2026)