By Christine JiAnthropic looks to expand its compute capacity with a SpaceX partnership that will lift rate limits on Claude CodeAnthropic's new deal gives it exclusive access to over 220,000 Nvidia GPUs at SpaceX's Colossus 1 data center in Memphis, Tenn.Following a wave of explosive adoption, Anthropic is building up its compute reserves through a new alliance with Elon Musk's SpaceX - one that could see the Claude creator chasing its power needs in outer space.On Wednesday, Anthropic announced an agreement to use all of the compute capacity at SpaceX's Colossus 1 data center in Tennessee, bringing over 220,000 Nvidia (NVDA) GPUs and 300 megawatts of new capacity online within the month.According to its press release, Anthropic has also &#34;expressed interest in partnering with SpaceX to develop multiple gigawatts of orbital AI compute capacity.&#34;The agreement turns the rival AI labs into frenemies. In February, SpaceX acquired Musk's xAI, absorbing the Grok creator as a wholly owned subsidiary. As SpaceX prepares for a public listing later this year, the company plans to leverage the proceeds from its IPO to develop solar-powered orbital data centers to power xAI.See more: SpaceX officially acquires xAI. Here's how Elon Musk justifies the move.SpaceX's move to sell compute to Anthropic instead of using it internally raised eyebrows for some. Wharton School professor Ethan Mollick called the deal &#34;a blow to the idea that Grok will remain a frontier model&#34; in an X post. &#34;You don't give up training or inference capacity if you are trying to stay on the frontier,&#34; Mollick added.Earlier this year, Musk called Anthropic's AI &#34;misanthropic and evil,&#34; but has since changed his tune. Musk wrote in an X post following the announcement that after spending time with the Anthropic team, &#34;no one set off my evil detector. So long as they engage in critical self-examination, Claude will probably be good.&#34;&#34;After that, I was ok leasing Colossus 1 to Anthropic, as SpaceXAI had already moved training to Colossus 2,&#34; Musk added.More: Why SpaceX is putting a 'self-growing' city on the moon over Elon Musk's Mars dreamsAs Anthropic's run-rate revenue exceeds $30 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of 2025, the company has been racing to fulfill soaring demand for its products. The SpaceX deal brings higher usage limits to Claude Code and the Claude API, or the gateway that allows developers to build their own tools on top of Claude.Previously, Anthropic had to ration access at five-hour rate limits and peak-hour caps, to avoid overwhelming its servers.While the industry's &#34;gold standard&#34; is 99.999% uptime - known as &#34;five nines,&#34; which translates to just five minutes of downtime per year - Anthropic's core services have recently hovered around 99.1%. That translates to almost 80 hours of downtime a year.The SpaceX deal follows two other agreements Anthropic has made with AI-infrastructure providers in the past month, including Google (GOOGL) (GOOG), Broadcom (AVGO) and CoreWeave (CRWV).Read: Broadcom's stock is rising. Here's why its new Google and Anthropic deals are so significant.-Christine JiThis content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones &amp; Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.(END) Dow Jones Newswires05-06-26 1425ET

Anthropic drops new AI agent capabilities. GPT-5.5 Instant goes live in 2 days. The AI wave is surging again — who rides it highest?

Anthropic drops new AI agent capabilities. GPT-5.5 Instant goes live in 2 days. The AI wave is surging again — who rides it highest?

AI Race Heats Up! Anthropic & OpenAI Double Down on the Arms Race

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Anthropic has partnered with SpaceX to enhance its compute capacity, gaining exclusive access to over 220,000 Nvidia GPUs at SpaceX's Colossus 1 data center in Tennessee. This deal aims to alleviate rate limits on Anthropic's Claude Code and potentially develop orbital AI compute capacity. Despite previous tensions, Elon Musk has shifted his stance on Anthropic, allowing the lease of Colossus 1. The partnership comes as Anthropic's revenue surges, necessitating increased server capacity to meet growing demand.

- Anthropic has partnered with SpaceX to access over 220,000 Nvidia GPUs at the Colossus 1 data center, aimed at expanding its compute capacity.  
- This agreement will lift previous limitations on access to Anthropic's Claude Code and API, addressing high demand for its services.  
- The collaboration marks a shift in the competitive landscape of AI, as SpaceX transitions from internal usage to commercial partnerships, raising questions about its impact on rival capabilities.

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Anthropic strikes SpaceX deal to fuel Claude Code growth - and for data centers in space