Riot Shares Jump on Reported $9.1 Billion Anthropic Compute Deal
A reported 20-year agreement would turn 191 megawatts at Riot's Texas campus into AI capacity, but neither company has confirmed the terms.
Riot Platforms shares rose about 25% in after-hours trading after the bitcoin miner disclosed a $9.1 billion, 20-year lease with an unnamed frontier AI laboratory and Bloomberg identified the tenant as Anthropic. The transaction is one of the largest examples of a listed crypto miner converting power infrastructure into a long-duration AI asset.
Riot confirmed that the agreement covers 191 megawatts of critical IT capacity at its Rockdale campus in Texas and runs through June 2048. Two five-year extension options could raise the potential contract value to about $16.1 billion. The company expects the initial 96 megawatts to be delivered in December 2027 and the full capacity by June 2028.
The distinction between confirmed and reported information is essential. Riot filed the agreement's broad economics with the SEC but did not name the tenant. Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that the customer is Anthropic. Riot declined to comment on that identity, while Anthropic did not respond to requests for comment cited by the reporting. The lease exists; the tenant's identity remains unconfirmed by either party.
The reported deal fits a broader shift across bitcoin mining. Miners accumulated grid connections, substations, land and large power contracts to run specialised machines. When mining margins weaken, some sites can be adapted for high-performance computing. AI customers value many of the same scarce inputs, especially reliable electricity and sites that can reach operation faster than greenfield developments.
The conversion is not automatic. Bitcoin mining equipment tolerates different operating conditions from AI servers, and an AI data centre requires more demanding networking, cooling, redundancy and service-level guarantees. Riot secured a $573 million interim facility from Morgan Stanley for initial development while an investment-grade credit backstop is finalised. Significant construction still separates the signed lease from full revenue generation.
A 20-year term would change Riot's risk profile. Bitcoin mining revenue varies with the bitcoin price, network difficulty, transaction fees and energy costs. A long-term compute agreement could replace part of that volatility with contracted cash flow. It would also introduce concentrated customer exposure to Anthropic and technology risk tied to the useful life of the facility.
The $9.1 billion should not be read as immediate cash or present value. Long-duration contract values add expected payments over many years. Riot estimates cumulative net operating income of $7.3 billion to $8.2 billion over the base term, or an annual average of $365 million to $411 million. Those are management estimates and remain sensitive to financing costs, operating expenses, construction schedules and lease protections.
Anthropic's interest would be consistent with the AI industry's search for compute. Developers are signing large infrastructure agreements to support model training and customer demand. Securing a dedicated block of capacity can reduce dependence on a small number of established cloud providers, but it can also lock a customer into an asset and location long before future hardware requirements are known.
For Riot, the stock move shows how strongly public markets value a credible AI conversion narrative. Mining companies often trade as leveraged proxies for bitcoin because their revenue and treasury values move with the asset. A major contracted compute business could support a different valuation framework based on infrastructure earnings and backlog. That re-rating should depend on signed terms and execution, not only megawatts and headline contract value.
The next decisive evidence concerns execution and tenant confirmation. Investors should watch construction milestones, final project financing, the credit support behind the lease and the start of recurring payments. Anthropic's identity has reputable sourcing, but it should remain labelled as reported until the customer or Riot confirms it.
Why it matters
The reported deal illustrates how the physical infrastructure built for crypto mining can be repurposed for AI, linking two capital-intensive technology cycles through electricity and real estate. If confirmed, it would give Riot a large contracted revenue stream and provide Anthropic with dedicated capacity. It would also expose investors to construction, concentration and long-term technology risks that cannot be assessed from the headline value alone.