Key Takeaways:
Riot Platforms signed a $9.1 billion, 20-year deal to supply 191 megawatts of computing capacity to Anthropic at its Rockdale, Texas campus, the Bitcoin miner's largest step into AI data centers.
"In just six months, Riot has signed 241 MW of lease agreements with two of the most important companies in the AI ecosystem, representing approximately $9.8 billion in long-term contracted revenue," Jason Les, chief executive officer at Riot Platforms, said in the company's earnings release.
The contract, disclosed in an Aug. 10 SEC filing, covers 191 MW of critical IT capacity, with the first 96 MW scheduled for December 2027 and the remaining 95 MW by June 2028. Two optional five-year extensions could raise total value to about $16.1 billion. Riot described the tenant only as a "leading frontier AI lab"; Bloomberg identified it as Anthropic, developer of the Claude models, citing people familiar with the matter. Neither company confirmed the identity.
The deal follows Riot's earlier 50 MW agreement with AMD, bringing signed leases at Rockdale to 241 MW and roughly $9.8 billion in contracted revenue. Construction is expected to cost $2.1 billion to $2.3 billion, with Morgan Stanley providing a $573 million interim facility. Riot shares jumped 25 percent to $24.40 in late trading.
Rockdale was built around large-scale Bitcoin mining, with 700 MW of developed, energized power capacity and existing fiber and electrical infrastructure that Riot says can be repurposed for high-density computing. The company intends to convert the site's full gross capacity toward data center tenants over time.
The shift follows pressure from activist investor Starboard Value, which argued Riot's U.S. power portfolio could command greater value leased to computing customers. AMD initially signed for 25 MW in January and exercised an additional 25 MW option in April. Riot completed delivery of the first 25 MW in the second quarter and expects another 10 MW in November 2026 and 15 MW in May 2027.
Q2 data center revenue reached $23.2 million, including $4.9 million from operating leases and $18.3 million from tenant fit-out services. The broader trend reflects how Bitcoin miners are monetizing access to scarce U.S. power infrastructure, with peers Core Scientific, IREN, Applied Digital, TeraWulf and Hut 8 pursuing similar AI strategies.
Riot has not exited Bitcoin mining. It produced 1,587 BTC in the second quarter, up from 1,426 BTC a year earlier, though mining revenue fell to $113.7 million from $140.9 million as average Bitcoin prices declined and network hash rate increased. Riot's cost to mine one Bitcoin, excluding depreciation, was $49,912.
The company's Bitcoin holdings help finance the AI expansion. Riot ended June with 11,380 BTC valued at about $666 million, including 5,821 BTC held as collateral, alongside $548.9 million in cash. Its investor presentation says continued Bitcoin inventory sales are a primary funding source for the equity portion of its data center spending.
Riot expects debt to fund 80 percent to 90 percent of the project's costs, leaving an estimated equity requirement of $210 million to $460 million before capital recycled from its AMD financing. The next milestones are the planned 96 MW delivery in December 2027 and full 191 MW deployment in June 2028. Separately, Riot has a nonbinding letter of intent involving its Corsicana, Texas campus, giving it another route for converting former Bitcoin-focused power infrastructure into U.S. AI capacity.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
