Hut 8 saw its shares surge roughly 25% after unveiling a sweeping expansion into artificial intelligence infrastructure, marking one of the company’s most significant strategic shifts to date.
The bitcoin miner announced a partnership with AI firm Anthropic and compute platform Fluidstack to speed up the rollout of hyperscale AI data centers across the United States. The move sharply expands Hut 8’s development pipeline and underscores how mining companies are increasingly repurposing their energy and infrastructure assets to meet soaring demand for AI computing.
Posted by Hut 8
Large-scale AI infrastructure rollout
Under the agreement, Hut 8 will develop and deliver between 245 megawatts and as much as 2,295 megawatts of AI data center capacity for Anthropic. The facilities will host high-performance compute clusters operated by Fluidstack, with development structured across several phases.
The first phase will take place at Hut 8’s River Bend campus in Louisiana. There, the partners plan to build an initial 245 megawatts of IT capacity, supported by 330 megawatts of utility power. Later stages include a right of first offer for up to 1,000 additional megawatts at River Bend, as well as the potential joint development of up to 1,050 megawatts across Hut 8’s broader portfolio of sites.
While bitcoin mining hardware is not designed for AI workloads, mining operators often control valuable resources such as power access, land, and cooling systems. These assets can be adapted for GPU-based AI infrastructure, making diversification into data centers increasingly attractive as AI adoption accelerates worldwide.
“Scaling frontier AI infrastructure is, at its core, a power challenge,” Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot said.
He noted that the partnership brings together power, data center design, and compute deployment into a single platform capable of operating at gigawatt scale.
$7 billion lease anchors long-term growth
Alongside the partnership, Hut 8 disclosed a 15-year, triple-net lease agreement with Fluidstack covering the initial 245 megawatts of capacity at River Bend. The lease is valued at approximately $7 billion over the base term.
In a triple-net lease structure, the tenant is responsible for property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and operating costs in addition to rent. The agreement includes three five-year renewal options, which could raise the total contract value to about $17.7 billion if exercised. Fluidstack also holds a right of first offer for up to 1,000 megawatts of future expansion at the site.
Google is providing a financial backstop covering lease payments and related obligations during the 15-year base term. Hut 8 expects the project to generate about $6.9 billion in cumulative net operating income over that period. The first data center is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2027, with additional facilities expected to come online later that year.
Financing and local impact
Hut 8 plans to finance the project with up to 85% loan-to-cost funding. JPMorgan is expected to act as lead loan underwriter, with Goldman Sachs also participating, subject to final agreements and customary closing conditions.
The River Bend campus is being developed in coordination with Louisiana state authorities, local stakeholders, and Entergy Louisiana, which has already secured 330 megawatts of utility capacity with the potential to scale by another 1,000 megawatts. At peak construction, the project is expected to employ around 1,000 workers and support more than 265 direct, indirect, and induced jobs once operational, with employment rising as future phases progress.
Industry observers have taken note. VanEck’s head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel, described the agreement as one of the strongest AI and high-performance computing colocation deals disclosed so far, pointing to improving economics despite skepticism around AI-related power demand.
Market reaction
Investors responded swiftly to the news. Hut 8 shares climbed above 25% in pre-market trading, rising to around $46 from a previous close near $37. The stock has gained roughly 75% so far this year, reflecting growing confidence in the company’s transition beyond bitcoin mining.
