Anthropic Anchors A$30 Billion Brisbane Data Centre as Australia Pushes AI Compute Expansion
Updated
Updated · Financial Times · Sep 19
Anthropic Anchors A$30 Billion Brisbane Data Centre as Australia Pushes AI Compute Expansion
1 articles · Updated · Financial Times · Sep 19
Summary
Anthropic signed its first Australian data-centre deal, taking space in a A$30 billion project near Brisbane and giving a major boost to the country’s AI-compute ambitions.
Australia is pitching abundant cheap renewables as the draw: solar power costs about $40 per MWh, and a 2024 study said its 2050 energy needs would use less than 1% of its solar or wind potential.
The buildout could be large. New South Wales is already in advanced talks on 13GW of projects, while Australia currently has just 1.4GW of installed AI-compute capacity versus 4.5GW in northern Virginia.
Canberra requires new sites to secure power development alongside data centres, and Commonwealth Bank estimates the sector will need $100 billion of investment by 2030.
For Australia, the strategy offers a way to export renewable energy indirectly through computing power and help offset a weakening consumer economy, though local opposition and uneven economics remain obstacles.