IREN's Big Bet on AI Sparks $2.8 Billion Financing Push

Data centre firm IREN has secured $2.8 billion in new financing to help fund its AI chip purchases, as it shifts from bitcoin mining to AI cloud services.

The company signed a multi-year contract with a frontier AI lab and also issued a statement regarding its quarterly loss, which hit shares more than 7 per cent in extended trading.

IREN reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $684 million, compared to net income of $176.9 million the previous year, due in part to a non-cash impairment related to the decommissioning of bitcoin mining hardware.

The new financing deal includes a $2.4 billion facility led by asset management firm Blue Owl and bond giant Pacific Investment Management Company.