Bitcoin mining company IREN (IREN) has signed a multi-year GPU cloud services contract with Microsoft, marking a significant step in integrating traditional mining infrastructure with the growing demands of Big Tech for AI computing power.

The five-year agreement, valued at $9.7 billion, will provide Microsoft with access to Nvidia GB300 GPUs hosted within IREN’s data centers. In a related development, IREN also announced a $5.8 billion deal with Dell Technologies to acquire GPUs and related equipment.

To fund its capital expenditures, IREN plans to use a combination of cash reserves, customer prepayments, operational cash flow, and additional financing. The company emphasized that the agreement reinforces its position as a major provider of AI cloud services, following its strategic pivot into the sector earlier in 2024.

Beyond AI, IREN remains one of the largest Bitcoin (BTC) miners by realized hashrate. Following the announcement, IREN shares traded sharply higher after Monday’s market open, reflecting strong investor enthusiasm.

### Bitcoin Miners Turn to AI Amid Profit Pressures

IREN is among a growing number of Bitcoin miners aggressively shifting focus toward AI GPUs and data infrastructure to diversify revenue streams amid an increasingly competitive and capital-intensive mining landscape.

HIVE Digital was one of the first to change strategy, beginning its transition in mid-2023 and now generating significant revenue from AI and high-performance computing services. Similarly, MARA Holdings unveiled an immersion cooling system in 2024 designed to support dense compute workloads such as AI.

Earlier this year, Riot Platforms also began laying the groundwork for a potential expansion into AI and high-performance computing.

In one of the sector’s largest deals to date, TeraWulf announced a $3.7 billion hosting agreement in August with AI cloud platform Fluidstack, backed by Google-parent Alphabet. The agreement includes a 10-year colocation lease with options for five-year extensions.

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These moves highlight the evolving role of Bitcoin miners as they adapt to new opportunities presented by AI and cloud computing, leveraging their data center infrastructure to meet growing demand across industries.
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