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Anthropic's long-awaited initial public offering (IPO) could be a massive event for investors interested in the artificial intelligence (AI) space. But the biggest beneficiaries might not be the people buying shares of the developer of the Claude family of large language models.

Alphabet (GOOGL +1.34%) (GOOG +1.60%), Amazon (AMZN +0.59%), Microsoft (MSFT -0.06%), Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX -2.25%), Broadcom (AVGO +2.77%), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD +3.25%) already have enormous financial relationships with Anthropic.

And Anthropic's newly released IPO prospectus reveals something fascinating: These companies have agreements potentially worth hundreds of billions of dollars, but the terms of the various contracts are dramatically different. For investors trying to figure out which companies are actually making money from the AI infrastructure boom, those differences matter.

Alphabet and Amazon have the biggest cloud commitments

Anthropic's S-1 filing reveals that it is committed to spending at least $114.5 billion with Alphabet's Google Cloud between April 2026 and July 2033.

Image source: Getty Images.

That's a minimum commitment, regardless of how much computing capacity Anthropic actually uses. If its usage falls short, Anthropic generally must pay Google the difference, subject to contractual adjustments and exceptions.

Anthropic also estimates another $125 billion to $150 billion in future payments for additional Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) computing capacity from providers, including Google. TPUs are Alphabet's custom-designed AI processors, which it designs in conjunction with Broadcom. The amounts in Anthropic's prospectus depend on deployment and other conditions, and they don't specify how much of that revenue will go to Alphabet.

GOOGL - Alphabet

$324.89+$4.31 (+1.34%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/28/26

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Moneyball Superscore90/100

Key data points

Market capMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.$3.97T

Day's range$322.66 - $326.41

52wk range$270.70 - $408.61

Volume4M

Avg volume26.1M

Gross margin60.94%

Dividend yield0.26%

Amazon has a similarly attractive arrangement. Anthropic agreed to spend at least $110 billion for compute from Amazon's infrastructure between May 2026 and April 2036, regardless of actual usage, with similar provisions requiring Anthropic to make up for spending shortfalls.

Neither agreement can be canceled unless the compute provider commits a serious violation of the contract.

But Amazon and Alphabet have another advantage: They're also major stakeholders in Anthropic.

Amazon invested $13 billion in Anthropic, and its stake was valued at $190.4 billion at the end of June. Alphabet has invested at least $13.3 billion in the AI start-up since September 2023 and has rights to invest up to $20 billion more in notes or non-voting stock. At the end of the second quarter, Alphabet valued its stake at $124.3 billion.

AMZN - Amazon

$254.60+$1.50 (+0.59%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/28/26

Premium Feature

Moneyball Superscore87/100

Key data points

Market capMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.$2.75T

Day's range$251.98 - $255.36

52wk range$196.00 - $287.20

Volume923.4K

Avg volume38.7M

Gross margin50.77%

SpaceX has a massive deal with an escape hatch

SpaceX's agreement looks impressive at first glance. Anthropic agreed to spend up to $120.5 billion on computing capacity powered by Nvidia GPUs, with the contracts extending into 2029. Once all capacity is being delivered, Anthropic expects to make payments of approximately $3.1 billion per month to SpaceX.

But after the initial periods of that deal end in January and March, either party may terminate the agreement with 90 days' notice. That's a very different arrangement from the ones Anthropic has with Google and Amazon.

SPCX - Space Exploration Technologies

$145.23-$3.35 (-2.25%)

NASDAQ · As of 4:00 PM ET 10/28/26

Key data points

Market capMarket cap calculated using publicly traded shares outstanding only. Does not include unlisted, private, or dual-class non-traded shares. Implied market cap may vary.$1.95T

Day's range$142.13 - $148.20

52wk range$104.83 - $225.64

Volume1.3M

Avg volume101.3M

Microsoft's agreement is closer to the cloud giants' model. Anthropic is committed to spending at least $44.9 billion on Microsoft's cloud compute between November 2026 and May 2033, regardless of actual usage, and there are only limited cancellation rights.

For Microsoft shareholders, that provides contractual support for future demand. SpaceX's headline figure, meanwhile, depends much more heavily on the relationship continuing.

Broadcom and AMD offer two more ways to win

Broadcom's arrangement with the AI lab is particularly interesting. Anthropic disclosed approximately $161.2 billion in aggregate rent payments, excluding interest, under five-year equipment leases involving TPU-based computing infrastructure. These are finance leases with quarterly payments that generally begin when the equipment is ready for service. They're noncancelable during the applicable lease periods, except in cases of default.

That gives Broadcom a different financial relationship from the cloud providers. Rather than simply selling computing services, it's supplying equipment through lease arrangements backed by contractual payment obligations.

AMD's deal is less straightforward. Anthropic agreed to obtain an initial tranche of AMD-based Helios computing systems in 2027, subject to certain deployment conditions. The agreement doesn't specify a fixed dollar commitment. If Anthropic procures the full initial capacity, however, it expects to spend in excess of $20 billion. The agreement also allows for it to make an additional capacity purchase of roughly the same size.

That's an enormous opportunity for AMD, but investors shouldn't confuse expected spending with a guaranteed $20 billion purchase order.

What Anthropic's IPO means for investors

Anthropic's IPO prospectus provides what investors have been demanding from the AI industry: evidence that companies are willing to commit enormous sums to computing infrastructure. But a contract's headline value doesn't tell the entire story.

None of the figures associated with these six companies represent immediate revenue or guaranteed profit. Infrastructure must be delivered, expenses incurred, and Anthropic must have the financial resources to meet its obligations.

But Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, SpaceX, Broadcom, and AMD have substantial opportunities here. The strength of their agreements with Anthropic will help determine how much of those potential sales become real revenues.