Anthropic has agreed to take 191 megawatts of computing capacity at Riot Platforms’ Rockdale campus in Texas. The 20-year agreement could ultimately be worth $16.1 billion, accelerating Riot’s transformation from bitcoin miner to AI infrastructure provider.
Key Takeaways
- Riot signed Anthropic for 191 MW through 2048, with the deal worth up to $16.1B.
- Riot’s artificial intelligence (AI) pivot lifted data-center revenue to $23.2M as bitcoin mining revenue fell to $113.7M.
- Riot plans 96 MW by Dec. 2027 and all 191 MW by June 2028, making AI core to growth.
Riot Converts Texas Bitcoin Power Into $9.1B AI Revenue
Anthropic is turning to a former pure-play bitcoin miner for the vast computing capacity needed to support its rapidly expanding artificial intelligence business.
The Claude developer is the unnamed “leading frontier AI lab” behind Riot Platforms’ new 20-year data center agreement, according to Bloomberg, which cited people familiar with the matter. Riot itself has not disclosed the customer’s identity. The contract covers 191 megawatts of critical IT capacity at its Rockdale, Texas, campus.
Riot expects the base agreement, which runs through June 2048, to generate about $9.1 billion in revenue. Two optional five-year extensions could lift total contract value to approximately $16.1 billion. Riot shares rose 18.3% premarket on Tuesday, Aug. 11, following Anthropic’s identification as the customer.
Riot Turns Bitcoin Power Into AI Revenue
Riot will deliver the facility in phases. The first 96 MW is scheduled for December 2027, with the full 191 MW expected online by June 2028. Morgan Stanley is providing a $573 million interim financing facility for initial development.
The company estimates the contract will generate cumulative net operating income of between $7.3 billion and $8.2 billion during its initial term, or an average of $365 million to $411 million annually.
“This marks a defining moment in our evolution into a leading developer of large-scale data centers,” CEO Jason Les said.
The Anthropic agreement follows Riot’s January lease with Advanced Micro Devices. Riot has now contracted 241 MW at Rockdale across the two customers, representing about $9.8 billion in long-term contracted revenue.
Data Centers Begin Reshaping Riot’s Business
Riot’s second-quarter results already show the transition taking hold. Revenue rose 14% from a year earlier to $174.2 million, including $23.2 million from its data center segment. Bitcoin mining revenue, meanwhile, fell to $113.7 million from $140.9 million.
The company mined 1,587 bitcoin during the quarter and ended June with 11,380 BTC plus $548.9 million in cash.
Riot is part of a wider migration among bitcoin miners toward AI. Their most valuable assets increasingly are not mining machines but energized land and grid connections, resources that AI developers are racing to secure.
For Riot, the Anthropic contract turns that power advantage into two decades of potential revenue, making AI infrastructure a central business rather than a side bet.