Anthropic closes $9.1 billion deal with Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms

AI company Anthropic has signed a $9.1 billion deal with Riot Platforms, a Bitcoin miner that also sells data centre capacity to AI companies. The agreement runs for twenty years and gives Anthropic access to 191 megawatts of computing capacity at Riot’s campus in Rockdale, Texas.

In short:

• Anthropic and Riot Platforms have struck a $9.1 billion deal for computing capacity in Texas.
• The agreement runs for twenty years and could rise to $16.1 billion with two extension options.
• Riot expects to have the full 191 megawatts of capacity online by June 2028.

From Bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure

Riot Platforms has traditionally been active as a Bitcoin miner, but the company is increasingly renting out data centre capacity to AI companies. The campus in Rockdale, Texas forms the basis of the new agreement. Riot announced the deal itself on Monday, with the company referring to a partnership with a leading AI company. Insiders who wish to remain anonymous have confirmed to Bloomberg that it concerns Anthropic.

The 191 megawatts of capacity that Riot provides is comparable to the electricity demand of around 143,000 households at the same time. Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI assistant, wants to secure enough computing capacity with this investment to meet the growing demand from its users.

Contract value rises with extensions

Riot expects the full 191 megawatts to be available by June 2028. In addition to the twenty-year base agreement, there are two extension options of five years each. If Anthropic exercises both options, the total value of the contract rises to approximately $16.1 billion.

With this step, Anthropic secures a significant amount of computing power for the long term. The deal shows how Bitcoin miners are increasingly using their infrastructure for other purposes, at a time when the AI sector is seeking large amounts of energy and server space.