Iren Delivers First AI Capacity Phase to Microsoft in Texas

Data center developer Iren has delivered its first phase of AI capacity to Microsoft in Texas. The company has handed over Horizon 1, a 50MW direct-to-chip liquid-cooled building that is part of the Childress campus expansion.

The delivery marks a significant milestone for Iren, which signed a $9.7 billion cloud services contract with Microsoft in November 2025. At full build-out, the Childress site will offer 750MW across 576 acres.

Iren is undergoing a pivot away from cryptomining towards its AI cloud business, and has said it's targeting a broader expansion to 480MW of gross AI Cloud capacity in 2026 and 1.2GW (gross) in 2027.