AI Data Center Financing Tightens as 47 US Projects Stall and Anthropic Seeks a Second $45 Billion Nscale Lease

Funding for the American AI build-out is tightening at the developer level, even as demand from the largest model labs keeps growing. On October 18 the Financial Times reported that at least 47 large US data center projects were delayed, withdrawn or blocked in 2026, citing data from the regulatory-intelligence company RegLayer. RegLayer called the count conservative because it covers only the largest projects. Bernstein analysts estimated that only about 35% of the planned US pipeline is credible. The Financial Times also counted more than 1,000 US communities that tried to impose moratoriums or other restrictions on AI infrastructure this year.

Credit is contracting along with permitting. According to Financial Times data, global AI-related debt issuance fell to $23 billion in September from $113 billion in June, and banks are reducing their exposure to avoid concentration risk. In September, Bloomberg had already tallied $68 billion of new US data center projects disrupted. Some lease contracts let AI customers withdraw if a developer misses its financing or delivery deadlines, as the AI Post summary of the Financial Times report notes. That clause leaves the construction risk with the developer and its lenders, not with the tenant.

Anthropic, by contrast, is adding capacity. Bloomberg reported on October 19 that Nscale is in advanced talks with Anthropic for a second contract of roughly $45 billion covering 460 megawatts of Nvidia Vera Rubin capacity at the Monarch campus in West Virginia. The first deal, signed in August, was a six-year, 460-megawatt lease at the same site, with delivery from late 2027. Data Center Dynamics reports that Anthropic holds a right of first refusal on an expected third building. The AI Post channel noted that the talks began less than two months after the first contract.

Nscale, the landlord in these deals, carries the most financial risk. The company filed for a New York Stock Exchange listing under the ticker NSCL and seeks to raise up to $3 billion. Investors are pushing back on its roughly $30 billion valuation target, and some have told bankers that $16 billion to $19 billion would attract more buyers. The Next Web reports that Microsoft, which is both an investor and a client, withdrew from a UK data center deal after power constraints delayed the site. Construction at Nscale's flagship facility in Norway is six months behind schedule, and the Australian developer Firmus recently failed to complete its initial public offering. Nscale disclosed $103.4 billion of active and contracted total contract value as of August 31. Agreements with Anthropic account for up to about $44.6 billion of that figure.