Alphabet’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Google has structured an unusual credit-support arrangement that could allow it to acquire a partial ownership interest in a major artificial-intelligence data-center project developed by Bitcoin miner TeraWulf if tenant Anthropic fails to meet its lease obligations.
The agreements, disclosed in a November 4, 2026, Form 8-K filing by TeraWulf Inc., cover three long-term leases totaling roughly $19 billion in contracted commitments over 20 years.
These leases, signed earlier in July 2026 through TeraWulf subsidiary Raylan Data LLC, give Anthropic access to approximately 401 megawatts of critical IT load capacity at the Justified Data Campus in Hawesville, Kentucky.
Capacity is scheduled to come online in phases beginning in late 2027 and continuing through the second quarter of 2028.
Under the three Credit Support Agreements executed with Google LLC, Raylan, another TeraWulf affiliate, and Anthropic, Google has agreed to backstop certain of Anthropic’s obligations.
The support is intended to help TeraWulf secure project financing on more favorable terms by reducing counterparty credit risk.
Google’s highly rated debt (AA+ from S&P and Aa2 from Moody’s) effectively stands behind the arrangement once the backstop activates.
The backstop does not take effect immediately.
For each of the three leased sections (CB-1, CB-2, and CB-3), it becomes active only upon delivery of the final data hall in that section. It terminates if Anthropic, or a qualifying affiliate guaranteeing its obligations, maintains investment-grade credit ratings for at least three consecutive months.
If Anthropic defaults on rent payments or enters an insolvency event after the backstop is live, Google has two main options following notice from the landlord.
It may pay all rent then due and step into the lease as the tenant itself, preserving the tenancy under the existing terms. Alternatively, under specified conditions, it may pay a termination fee.
Payment of that fee entitles Google to acquire an equity interest in Raylan Data—the project subsidiary operating the campus—not in the publicly traded parent company TeraWulf.
The size of any such stake is calculated proportionally: the termination fee is divided by the total estimated cost of developing and building the facility (including land, infrastructure, equipment, and financing).
For illustration, a termination payment equal to 30 percent of those aggregate costs would give Google a corresponding 30 percent ownership interest in the subsidiary.
For the first six years after the support becomes effective, Google is generally required to assume the lease rather than elect termination, with a limited exception if Google’s own TPU accelerator pods installed in the halls are capable of drawing less than half the power allocated to the tenant.
In a pure payment-default scenario without insolvency, Google may also defer its choice for a defined period while continuing to cover unpaid and accruing rent.
The termination fee itself amortizes over time, reducing the protection’s value later in the lease term.
The structure reflects the broader shift by former Bitcoin miners such as TeraWulf toward high-performance computing and AI infrastructure amid surging demand for power and data center capacity.
It also illustrates how large technology companies are providing credit backstops to facilitate multi-billion-dollar AI build-outs by smaller developers and operators.
TeraWulf has additionally entered a definitive engineering, procurement, and construction agreement with Fluor for three buildings at the site.
While the agreements strengthen the project’s financing profile, any equity outcome for Google remains contingent on an Anthropic default and Google’s subsequent election to pay a termination fee rather than assume the tenancy.
