CoreWeave’s Anthropic Deal is Game Changing — The AI‑Infra Trade is Heating Up

As the AI trade heats up again, the hard-hit neocloud plays might be in a spot to lead the march higher. CoreWeave (NASDAQ:CRWV) shares have shown signs of life in recent months, but the name is still off close to 35% from its highs just north of $183 per share. As investors warm up to AI infrastructure, which still seems to be the earlier way to score big growth, I do see a name like CoreWeave as quite well-positioned, as the firm looks to provide next-generation compute, which could remain in short supply relative to demand for quite some time.

Either way, CoreWeave’s partnerships have added fuel to the bull case. And its latest Anthropic deal, I think, could be the biggest game-changer of all. At the end of the day, Anthropic seems to be the big name in AI these days. It used to be ChatGPT in the headlines, but nowadays, you’re more likely to hear about Claude and Claude Code.

And, of course, there’s a very powerful Claude Mythos, which was too scary to release to just anyone. Just how much of the limited release was marketing and how much is real remains up for debate. Personally, I think the power of Anthropic’s latest and greatest models might still be underestimated by investors, especially as the big wave of mega-cap AI IPOs looks to land, likely with SpaceX leading the way.

Anthropic is moving fast at the frontier of AI

If Anthropic’s Claude keeps startling the software industry while firms unlock serious value (through patching vulnerabilities before the bad guys catch on) with access to the latest, powerful models, such as Mythos, I don’t think a $1 trillion valuation is all that far-fetched.

Now, I have no idea if Anthropic will stay at these heights. But I do think the firm has an AI strategy (enterprise focus, efficiency, and, perhaps most importantly, safety) that the average AI user and investor can really get behind. Not to mention Dario Amodei is a genius who’s shown he can get the job done.

Either way, CoreWeave’s multi-year Anthropic agreement is a major vote of confidence that might be the best partner one could ask for in this stage of the AI race.

As good a customer as you could ask for

Given the efficiency focus, the impressive financials, as well as the ability to charge higher prices (one of the perks of operating with more of an enterprise focus), and the option to go for ads later on, though perhaps not anytime soon, given the Super Bowl ad throwing jabs at rival OpenAI, an Anthropic deal is a gold standard as far as AI-native companies are concerned.

What’s more, though, is that the deal could signify that AI leaders are comfortable going beyond just the big hyperscalers. Now, the hyperscalers still have most of the cards, but when it comes to up-and-coming infrastructure providers, I do think there’s real opportunity there as well, even if the valuation multiples are a bit excessive. 

In any case, such deals are a major jolt for the industry, and as Anthropic continues its ascent, I wouldn’t be all too surprised if the neoclouds ride on its coattails.

The bottom line

While I wouldn’t chase CoreWeave stock here, I do think that its latest star customers could draw in even more business. The only question becomes, can CoreWeave keep up the pace? I’m not sure, but I do think it can keep raising enough capital to keep its foot on the gas pedal now that it has Anthropic’s huge vote of confidence.