Anthropic has signed a $1.8 billion computing agreement with US-based cloud computing company Akamai Technologies, according to a recent Bloomberg News report that cited people familiar with the matter.

The deal comes as the artificial intelligence startup scrambles to secure enough processing power for its fast-growing software, explains the report. Akamai disclosed a long-term cloud contract with an unnamed frontier model provider in its earnings statement a day earlier, without identifying the customer. Both Akamai and Anthropic declined to comment to Reuters.

Chief Executive Tom Leighton told Reuters that Akamai is well placed to secure components, including CPUs and GPUs, even as prices for the hardware have climbed. The Anthropic deal widens a push by the startup to lock in computing resources.

According to Reuters, last Wednesday, Anthropic confirmed an agreement to tap the data-centre capabilities of Elon Musk's SpaceX, marking a reconciliation with a one-time critic and a strategic boost for both companies as competition in artificial intelligence intensifies.