According to informed sources, Lancium, the company building the power infrastructure for the data center campuses of OpenAI and Oracle in Texas, is in discussions with several major technology firms to sell a minority stake.

Lancium's CEO, Michael McNamara, is leading the firm, which is backed by Blackstone. Sources indicate that the company, which controls multiple gigawatt-scale data center-ready campuses in Texas, has attracted interest from several tech companies, including Nvidia. Additional reports suggest that Anthropic had preliminary discussions with the Lancium team but these did not progress to formal deal negotiations.

Insiders suggest the transaction is likely to involve only a partial equity sale rather than a full acquisition. If a deal is reached, the enterprise valuation, including debt, could fall within a range of $70 billion to $100 billion. Negotiations are ongoing, and the terms may still change.

Significance of the Negotiations

These talks and the company's exceptionally high valuation highlight the technology industry's strong recognition of the core value held by firms like Lancium, Clover Infrastructure, and Crusoe in the early stages of AI development. Their value lies in having secured land parcels near substations, oil & gas transmission lines, and renewable energy sites, and in having completed various construction permits. With grid interconnection wait times for new data center projects now significantly longer and public opposition to the consumption of water and power resources growing, high-quality land with pre-arranged energy connections has become a scarce resource.

Both private equity firms and tech giants are actively approaching these "power-ready land" developers. Such companies can either self-supply power or collaborate with utility companies to implement large-scale power solutions, ensuring campuses can complete their power infrastructure by 2027 and be fully operational by 2028.

Lancium's Business and Projects

Founded in 2017 and specializing in clean energy integration technology, Lancium has secured grid interconnection rights for several strategic land parcels in Texas. Blackstone holds nearly half of the company's shares. The firm is developing a major campus in Abilene, Texas, to provide power infrastructure for Oracle and OpenAI, a site that is also a key component of OpenAI's "Star" supercomputer project.

Major AI Power Hub in North Texas

Lancium is advancing multiple projects in Texas, including planning for a second large campus in Childress County. Located in the Texas Panhandle near Oklahoma, the county has the potential to become a top-tier AI power hub for the state.

Previous reports indicate Texas is planning a third ultra-high-voltage transmission network to handle over 25 gigawatts of new data center load in the Panhandle region.

Filings by utility company American Electric Power with the state grid operator show that for Childress County alone, companies have signed agreements to support 8.35 gigawatts of projects, with plans to make the county a central hub in its multi-billion-dollar transmission upgrade plan.

Lancium has already secured 1 gigawatt of grid interconnection capacity in Childress and last year obtained tax abatements and designation as an Industrial Reinvestment Zone, allowing for the construction of 10 large supporting buildings.

Data center development is a capital-intensive industry. Lancium's public financing records include a $500 million equity investment from Blackstone in 2024 and a $600 million debt financing completed last October.

Tech Sector Rush for Power Resources

Google's $4.8 billion acquisition of power and data center developer Intersect earlier this year vividly illustrates the urgent need for tech companies to secure power supply, making Google the first major tech firm to take control of a power-ready infrastructure company.

Over the past decade, Intersect preemptively secured vast tracts of industrial land suitable for pairing with clean energy. It currently has projects under development capable of delivering approximately 8 to 10 gigawatts of power, all expected to be completed and operational by the end of 2028—an amount equivalent to the total electricity demand of 8 to 10 medium-sized cities.

Even though Anthropic's involvement may only be at the exploratory stage, its interest in investing in an infrastructure developer signals a desire to control its own computing infrastructure to support rapid business expansion. Reports state the company is moving beyond simply renting servers from Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud and intends to build or lease its own dedicated data centers.

Anthropic has signed over a dozen letters of intent to lease data centers directly from various U.S. infrastructure developers. Both OpenAI and Anthropic use leasing models to control their computing campuses. Earlier this week, data center firm Terawulf announced that Anthropic signed a 20-year, $19 billion lease for a 400-megawatt computing campus in Kentucky, scheduled to come online in the second half of next year.

Lancium's Business Model and Challenges

Lancium's core model involves owning land and grid-connected power infrastructure, generating stable, long-term service fees from self-built and operated supporting facilities. The company is not a traditional power generator or transmission operator; instead, it builds substations and acts as a retail electricity provider, and can also supplement grid power with off-grid generation equipment. A potential acquirer would gain access to its scarce grid permits and land resources but would also need to raise additional capital to purchase the high-cost grid interconnection equipment.

Even for campuses with advanced permitting, significant challenges remain, with water supply being a critical issue. Childress County itself is a water-scarce region. Last month, Lancium CEO Michael McNamara testified before the Texas House Natural Resources Committee, stating the company plans to invest heavily in developing deep, non-potable water sources from aquifers far deeper than those traditionally used by local farmers, while also providing treated water to local residents free of charge.

In a March public meeting with Abilene local government officials, McNamara explained that for the Abilene campus developed for OpenAI and Oracle, Lancium owns the land and power infrastructure, while the data center buildings themselves are constructed by Crusoe. Lancium also manages the entire coordination process with the Public Utility Commission, grid operators, and transmission companies.