Riot Platforms Inks $9 Billion Deal with Anthropic Ahead of Record-Breaking IPO

Riot Platforms, a bitcoin mining company that recently began selling data center capacity for AI, has signed a massive deal with Anthropic, a leading developer of Claude. The agreement is worth over $9 billion and will secure 191 MW of power from Riot's campus in Rockdale, Texas, for the next 20 years.

This deal comes as Anthropic prepares to go public in September or early October, according to reports. If successful, this would be one of the largest IPOs in history. The company is also expected to hold meetings with potential investors ahead of its listing, where executives will address concerns over Chinese AI competition and growing backlash against new data centers.

Riot's shares surged more than 20% in premarket trading following the announcement of the deal, as investors bet on the potential for increased demand from Anthropic and other AI companies. The WSJ reports that company executives downplayed the impact of Chinese competition, stating that most users want the smartest AI systems.