Hut 8 and Anthropic Secure a $7B AI Data Center Deal, Backed by Google
In a groundbreaking development for the artificial intelligence infrastructure sector, Hut 8 Corp. (Nasdaq: HUT), a former Bitcoin mining company turned energy infrastructure platform, has unveiled a colossal partnership with AI developer Anthropic and cloud computing provider Fluidstack. This alliance aims to construct hyperscale AI data centers throughout the United States.
The deal’s crowning jewel is a 15-year, $7 billion triple-net lease at Hut 8’s River Bend campus in Louisiana. With Google backing the lease payments and J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs providing loan financing, Hut 8 is set to develop and deliver a minimum of 245 megawatts (MW) and potentially up to 2,295 MW of AI-focused data center infrastructure for Anthropic. Fluidstack will be in charge of operating the high-performance compute clusters on-site.
The agreement is structured in several phases. The initial phase will kick off at River Bend with 245 MW of IT capacity, bolstered by 330 MW of utility power. The site also has options for up to 1 additional gigawatt. Beyond River Bend, Hut 8 and Anthropic have the potential to jointly develop up to 1 GW of additional optional capacity across Hut 8’s wider pipeline. The deal is projected to generate approximately $454 million in net annual income for Hut 8 and could be worth up to $17.7 billion if extended.
The announcement sparked a surge in Hut 8 shares, with a jump of over 16% in premarket trading, indicating robust investor enthusiasm for the company’s shift from cryptocurrency mining to AI infrastructure.