Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, just locked in a 20-year deal worth $9.1 billion with Riot Platforms for 191 megawatts of data-center capacity at Riot’s Rockdale, Texas campus. The contract includes options for two five-year extensions that could push the total value to $16.1 billion.
What the deal actually looks like
The first phase of the buildout will deliver 96 MW of capacity, expected to be operational by the end of 2027. Full deployment of all 191 MW is slated for June 2028.
For Riot, this is the company’s second major AI infrastructure lease in 2026, following a January contract with AMD for an additional 50 MW at the same Texas site. Combined, Riot has now committed roughly 241 MW to AI-related leases, translating to approximately $9.8 billion in contracted revenue.
Riot’s stock responded accordingly. Shares surged around 25% in after-hours trading once Anthropic was publicly identified as the counterparty. Prior announcements had only referenced an unnamed partner.
Why Bitcoin miners are becoming AI landlords
Bitcoin mining revenue fluctuates with the price of Bitcoin and the halving cycle, which cuts miner rewards roughly every four years. AI infrastructure leases, by contrast, offer predictable, long-duration cash flows. A 20-year contract with a well-funded counterparty like Anthropic provides the kind of revenue visibility that crypto mining simply cannot.
The bigger picture for AI infrastructure
For the broader crypto mining industry, Riot’s trajectory may serve as a template. Companies like Core Scientific have already inked similar deals. The $9.8 billion in contracted AI revenue that Riot has accumulated in just two deals suggests the market is pricing these companies not as crypto plays, but as energy infrastructure businesses.
The risk is execution. Building out high-density AI data centers requires different engineering than Bitcoin mining facilities, with more demanding cooling requirements and higher redundancy standards. Riot will need to deliver on those standards by the end of 2027 to capture the first tranche of revenue.