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Pay without set-off: the hell or high water clause

Can a GPU customer hold back fees because of a dispute under another contract with the provider?

Not under Boost Run’s agreement with Cohere. Cohere’s obligation to pay undisputed fees is absolute and unconditional, with no set-off for anything owed under any other agreement, including one where Boost Run buys from Cohere. Service credits, refunds under the contract and good-faith disputes of an invoice are kept, but any withholding is limited to the disputed part. The clause survives an assignment and any financing party can enforce it. Where racks miss the outside date, Cohere keeps paying for the accepted racks while its refund is pending. For lenders: this is the hell or high water clause that makes the fees financeable, with the customer’s ordinary remedies carved out. Anthropic’s order with Nscale is softer: Anthropic may not withhold payment, but only undisputed amounts must be paid, so it is not a full hell or high water clause.

Randeep Bubbra | Lawyer | Making the next generation of infrastructure financeable · Firm profile ·

What the filed contracts say

ContractWhat the filed wording says
Boost Run–Cohere service agreementPayment of undisputed fees is absolute and unconditional.
Boost Run–Cohere service agreementNo set-off for amounts owed under any other agreement, including one where the provider buys from the customer.
Boost Run–Cohere service agreementService credits, contractual refunds and good-faith invoice disputes are kept, limited to the disputed part.
Boost Run–Cohere service agreementThe clause survives assignment and any financing party can enforce it.
Boost Run–Cohere service agreementWhile a refund for late racks is pending, the customer keeps paying for accepted racks.
Anthropic / Nscale GPU orderAnthropic may not withhold payment, though it may dispute an invoice in good faith and pay only the undisputed part.
Anthropic / Nscale GPU orderUnpaid undisputed amounts let the provider suspend the related services after notice.
Anthropic / Nscale GPU orderPayments are non-refundable unless the agreement says otherwise.

The filed wording

4.4 Independent Obligations. Customer’s obligation to pay undisputed Fees under this Agreement is absolute and unconditional, and shall not be subject to any abatement, reduction, set-off, counterclaim, recoupment, defence or deduction by reason of any amount owed or alleged to be owed by Boost Run or any of its Affiliates to Customer or any of its Affiliates under any other agreement, including any agreement under which Boost Run or any of its Affiliates procures products or services from Customer or any of its Affiliates; provided, however, that the foregoing shall not limit Customer’s right to (i) apply Service Credits earned under Exhibit F in accordance with its terms, or (ii) receive refunds or credits to which Customer is entitled under this Agreement, including under Section 10.6, Exhibit F, or Section 16 of Exhibit G; provided that any such dispute is raised in accordance with Section 6 of Exhibit G and any withholding or set-off is limited to the good-faith disputed portion of the applicable invoice. No such other agreement constitutes consideration for, or is conditioned upon, this Agreement or any Order, and neither Party shall net, offset, credit or apply amounts payable under any such other agreement against amounts payable under this Agreement. This Section 4.4 survives any assignment under Section 18.1 of Exhibit G and is enforceable by any Financing Party.
Boost Run–Cohere service agreement (GB300 NVL72), drafted for the provider’s lenders, section 4.4 · Boost Run 8-K, Exhibit 10.1

On the deal pages

Financings by the parties to these contracts

The latest debt raised by the companies that signed them, with the terms and the sources on each deal page.

FinancingBorrower or issuerDateAmount
Pre-IPO convertible loan-note subscription (initial minimum)Nscale15 September 2026US$2.1bn
Dell short-term equipment lease payment schedules (aggregate)Nscale4 September 2026US$2.54bn
North Carolina GPU DDTLNscale31 August 2026US$1.2bn
Ward County GPU DDTLNscale31 August 2026US$1.85bn
Macquarie Iceland GPU facilityNscale29 July 2026US$331.9m

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Method

Each extract is quoted from the contract as filed with the SEC, checked against the filed text when it was added; “…” marks words left out. Filers redact commercial terms, so a [***] or [*] is the filer's, not ours. The summaries describe the wording, not how a court would read it, and each contract's defined terms and other clauses can change the effect. General information drawn from public filings. It is not legal advice on any transaction, and using this page does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Views are personal.

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