Akamai and Anthropic Sign $11.6 Billion Edge AI Deal

Akamai Technologies shares rose more than 21% in premarket trading following the announcement of an $11.6 billion agreement with AI company Anthropic. The deal includes a seven-year power contract designed to support increased CPU workloads, signaling a broader industry shift from centralized data centers toward distributed computing and personal AI agents.

As part of the arrangement, Akamai issued a warrant that allows Anthropic to purchase approximately 5% of Akamai shares at an exercise price of $111.33 per share. The move highlights the growth of edge AI infrastructure, which analysts suggest aligns with the architecture of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. EPYC CPUs. Market projections indicate the total addressable market for these CPUs has risen to $220 billion, with the expansion of edge AI potentially increasing the compound annual growth rate by 8 percentage points.

Other market activity included a 3% rise for Synopsys following an HSBC upgrade to buy. Conversely, Scholastic shares fell over 10% after reporting a fiscal first-quarter adjusted loss of $3.63 per share, and Nike shares declined nearly 2% after a Bank of America downgrade to underperform. Costco Wholesale reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $95.72 billion and adjusted earnings of $6.60 per share, though its shares dipped slightly.