{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/anthropic-shifts-cowork-vms-to-the-cloud-to-reduce-local-battery-and","json":"https://digestai.news/story/anthropic-shifts-cowork-vms-to-the-cloud-to-reduce-local-battery-and.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/anthropic-shifts-cowork-vms-to-the-cloud-to-reduce-local-battery-and.md","slug":"anthropic-shifts-cowork-vms-to-the-cloud-to-reduce-local-battery-and","headline":"Anthropic shifts Cowork VMs to the cloud to reduce local battery and performance costs","summary":"Anthropic has updated its Cowork tool to execute virtual machines directly in the cloud instead of running them on local user machines, according to Anthropic's Felix Rieseberg.\n\nThe previous version ran model inference in the cloud while executing tool calls inside an Anthropic-provided VM downloaded to user computers. Rieseberg explained that users experienced high disk, battery, and performance costs with local VMs, and sessions halted whenever users closed their laptops.\n\nThe updated version runs both model inference and the VM in the cloud, assigning each session its own isolated sandbox. When the cloud VM requires access to local user files, the Cowork desktop app handles the tool call to fetch the data. Rieseberg noted that the shift also enables using Cowork from mobile phones and lets long-running tasks continue uninterrupted.","keyPoints":["Cowork now runs both model inference and tool-executing virtual machines in the cloud","Each cloud session receives its own isolated sandbox rather than running VMs locally","The change eliminates local battery drain and allows Cowork to run from mobile phones"],"whyItMatters":"Running execution sandboxes in the cloud removes heavy local hardware demands and prevents agent tasks from stopping when users close their laptops.","category":{"slug":"agents","name":"Agents & Tools","url":"https://digestai.news/category/agents"},"entities":{"companies":["Anthropic"],"models":["Claude"],"people":["Felix Rieseberg"]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-05T23:56:47Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T23:56:47Z","sourceCount":1,"hasPrimarySource":false,"sources":[{"outlet":"Simon Willison","title":"Quoting Felix Rieseberg","url":"https://simonwillison.net/2026/Oct/5/felix-rieseberg","publishedAt":"2026-10-05T23:56:47Z","type":"newsletter","primary":false,"lead":true}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[],"thread":null,"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"Anthropic shifts Cowork VMs to the cloud to reduce local battery and performance costs\", 5 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/anthropic-shifts-cowork-vms-to-the-cloud-to-reduce-local-battery-and","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"Anthropic shifts Cowork VMs to the cloud to reduce local battery and performance costs","datePublished":"2026-10-05T23:56:47Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/anthropic-shifts-cowork-vms-to-the-cloud-to-reduce-local-battery-and"},"generatedBy":"Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record.","license":"Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse"}