Riot Platforms signs a mega deal with Anthropic worth $9.1 billion: miners are finally moving into the AI era
Major American Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms has officially cemented its status as one of the key players in the high-performance computing market. The company signed a 20-year lease agreement for the capacity of its Texas data center with a leading AI lab. This refers to Anthropic, one of the most valuable startups in the field of artificial intelligence.
Under the terms of the agreement, Anthropic will lease 191 MW of capacity at Riot's campus in Rockdale. The contract runs until June 2048 and guarantees Riot approximately $9.1 billion in revenue. The agreement also includes two five-year extension options, which, if fully activated, could increase the total deal value to an impressive $16.1 billion.
The project will be implemented in phases: the first 96 MW is planned to be commissioned by December 2027, with the full capacity volume by June 2028. Initial capital expenditures of $573 million will be partially financed by investment bank Morgan Stanley, reducing risks to Riot's balance sheet.
Financial results amid transformation
In parallel, Riot released its second-quarter report, which reflects the transitional nature of the business. Total revenue grew by 14% to $174.2 million, but the revenue structure changed significantly:
- data centers — $23.2 million;
- Bitcoin mining — $113.7 million;
- engineering — $37.3 million.
At the same time, the company recorded a net loss of $237.2 million, compared to a profit of $219.5 million a year earlier. This is an expected result for a period of aggressive investment in new infrastructure.
During the quarter, Riot mined 1,587 BTC, ending the period with more than $1.2 billion in liquid assets, including 11,380 BTC and $548.9 million in cash. CEO Jason Les emphasized that in less than seven months, the company signed lease contracts for 241 MW, equivalent to approximately $9.8 billion in long-term revenue from two major AI partners.
The market reaction was mixed: on August 10, Riot shares on Nasdaq fell by 5.4%, but the very next day they surged by more than 23%, approaching the $24 per share mark. Investors evidently appreciated the scale of the strategic pivot.
This deal continues the January partnership with AMD and marks Riot's final transition from pure Bitcoin mining to a diversified data center model. Core Scientific, IREN, Applied Digital, TeraWulf, and Hut 8 are already implementing a similar strategy. Notably, in August, Anthropic also signed a $10 billion agreement with Volta Infra Holdings, confirming the colossal demand for computing capacity from AI giants.
My analysis: The market has finally realized that Bitcoin miners are essentially energy infrastructure operators with unique access to cheap electricity. Repurposing these assets for AI workloads is a logical evolution that could bring miners more stable cash flows than volatile mining. However, the key risk is construction timelines: delays in bringing capacity online could lead to penalties and undermine partner trust.