Riot Stock Surges on $9 Billion AI Data Center Deal
Riot Platforms' stock surged after the company disclosed a long-term AI data center agreement that could change how investors value the company. The deal, which includes a 20-year lease for 191 megawatts of critical IT capacity at its Rockdale campus in Texas, is with an unnamed leading frontier AI lab. Bloomberg reported that the tenant is likely Anthropic, but neither party has confirmed this.
Riot expects to generate approximately $9.1 billion in contract revenue over the initial term, which runs through June 2048. The customer also has two optional five-year extension options, which could raise the potential contract value to around $16.1 billion. This long-duration AI data center contract creates a different revenue profile compared to traditional Bitcoin mining economics.
The agreement marks a significant shift in Riot's business model from pure Bitcoin mining exposure toward a hybrid model combining crypto mining and contracted AI infrastructure. Investors are reassessing the value of Riot's assets, which include power, land, and infrastructure that can support high-density computing for AI data centers.