Mining giant HIVE is pivoting: a $220 million GPU cloud contract changes the game
The digital asset market continues to demonstrate a surprising convergence with traditional high-performance computing. A vivid example of this is the deal struck by a subsidiary of HIVE Digital Technologies, BUZZ HPC. It involves a three-year contract to provide cloud GPU services for Canadian telecommunications giant Bell Canada and AI model developer Cohere. The agreement amount is an impressive $220 million.
Under the contract, BUZZ HPC will deploy 2,304 next-generation NVIDIA graphics processors — Grace Blackwell. The infrastructure will be hosted at the Bell AI Fabric facility located in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The launch of the capacities is scheduled for late 2026 to early 2027. This is a strategically important step: HIVE estimates that this contract will bring the company an increase in annual recurring revenue of approximately $70 million. For comparison, HIVE's current annual revenue from similar services is about $35 million.
This case confirms a global trend: mining companies, which possess enormous energy resources and experience in managing data centers, are increasingly pivoting toward the artificial intelligence and cloud computing market. Instead of relying solely on the volatility of cryptocurrencies, HIVE is diversifying its business by signing long-term contracts with major corporate clients.
My analysis. This is not just a deal, but a signal of a fundamental shift in the industry. Bitcoin miners like HIVE possess unique expertise in building and operating massive computing capacities with low electricity costs. The transition to servicing AI workloads is a logical evolution. Given that Bell Canada and Cohere are among the key players in the Canadian AI ecosystem, this contract could serve as a springboard for HIVE into the cloud computing market, where margins are significantly higher and more stable than in mining. Investors should closely monitor how HIVE scales this direction.