TeraWulf secures Google credit support for US$19B Anthropic lease

A US$19 billion AI lease now has signed credit support behind its planned project borrowing, while the construction price ceiling is still taking shape. TeraWulf Inc. NASDAQWULF, a U.S. owner and developer of power-backed digital infrastructure, announced the financing support and a definitive construction agreement on Nov. 4.

The tenant is Anthropic PBC, the privately held AI developer that operates as a public benefit corporation. Google LLC is providing contractual credit support for anticipated debt at the Justified Data Campus in Hawesville, Kentucky, TeraWulf says. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. NASDAQGOOGL NASDAQGOOG, the holding company behind its internet businesses.

Fluor Corporation NYSEFLR, the Irving, Texas-based engineering and construction contractor, is participating through subsidiary Fluor Enterprises, Inc. TeraWulf says the definitive agreement covers three buildings, with phased ready-for-service completions expected from late 2027 through the second quarter of 2028.

TeraWulf shares closed at US$12.53 at 4 p.m. EST on Nov. 3 on Nasdaq NASDAQWULF, according to Google Finance. That close predates the announcement, which was released at 8:15 a.m. EST on Nov. 4, so it provides a price reference before the news.

Credit Support Precedes The Debt

The Nov. 4 announcement describes Google's support as strengthening TeraWulf's ability to secure competitive financing. It identifies no borrowing amount, lender group, interest rate, maturity or financing closing date, and does not announce that the anticipated debt has been funded.

The approximately US$19 billion figure describes contracted lease commitments, rather than the size of the borrowing or Google's credit support. The release does not quantify the backstop or publish its draw conditions, leaving the financing economics and the amount of protection unavailable in the announcement.

“We structured our Anthropic leases from the outset to address counterparty credit, financing costs and capital requirements,” TeraWulf chairman and chief executive Paul Prager said in the release.

TeraWulf's July 6 securities filing described a lease for approximately 401 megawatts of critical IT load, through subsidiary Raylan Data LLC. The initial term is 20 years, with rent beginning when the applicable premises are delivered. Anthropic has options for two successive five-year extensions.

That filing said Anthropic's payment obligations were expected to have investment-grade credit support. The newly announced agreements concern support for anticipated project debt. The Nov. 4 release does not provide the agreements themselves or enough terms to equate that debt protection with a guarantee of every rental payment.

Fluor's Price Ceiling Is Still Being Established

Fluor's March 16 disclosure described a limited notice to proceed covering master planning and pre-construction work. It allowed early engineering to begin while definitive engineering, procurement and construction documents were finalized; Fluor did not disclose the contract's value.

The definitive agreement expands the scope to engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning across the three buildings. TeraWulf says it includes defined delivery milestones, open-book cost reporting, procurement oversight and contractual performance protections.

The agreement is described as being on a guaranteed-maximum-price basis, but TeraWulf says guaranteed maximum pricing is being established as engineering and procurement progress. The announcement supplies no final ceiling, individual building prices or quantified remedies for missed milestones.

The schedule also gives a more specific endpoint than the July filing's expected completion in early 2028. The latest EPC milestone schedule extends phased ready-for-service completions through the second quarter of 2028, while retaining late 2027 as the expected start.

Rent Begins After Each Phase Is Delivered

The announcement lands alongside another listed infrastructure developer's construction update. Hut 8 Corp. TSEHUT NASDAQHUT, an energy and digital infrastructure platform, reported on Nov. 4 that utility capacity under construction had reached 1,330 megawatts. Its first River Bend data hall is targeted for delivery in the second quarter of 2027.

Mugglehead's earlier coverage of Hut 8's construction funding and share repurchases followed the capital commitments behind that buildout. Hut 8's utility-capacity figure and TeraWulf's critical IT load measure different parts of a campus and are not directly comparable.

Read more: Hut 8 reports US$250M buybacks as AI construction advances

For Justified, the next scheduled operating test is the first ready-for-service completion in late 2027. The July lease disclosure ties rent commencement to delivery of the applicable premises, putting construction completion ahead of the start of that phase's rental stream.