Iren Completes First 50MW AI Installation Under $9.7B Microsoft Contract

Iren, a company previously involved in Bitcoin mining, has made significant strides in its transformation plan. As part of its $9.7 billion contract with Microsoft, Iren completed the first phase of its AI cloud delivery project, known as Horizon 1.

The installation, located at Iren's Childress campus in Texas, boasts a capacity of 50 megawatts and utilizes Nvidia's GB300 NVL72 GPUs along with a direct-to-chip liquid cooling system. Following testing, Horizon 1 achieved Exemplar Cloud status, an award given by Nvidia to providers meeting its performance and reliability standards.

The four-phase project aims to have a total capacity of 200 megawatts, with the remaining three installations expected to be delivered in 2026. Iren has secured a $3.65 billion debt package, backed by the Microsoft contract, which covers 96 percent of the $5.81 billion GPU expenditure tied to the agreement.