Technology and Science11 August, 20262 min read
Anthropic Agrees To Pay Riot Platforms US$9.1 Billion For 20-Year Computing Capacity
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Anthropic signs 20-year, $9.1 billion compute deal for 191 MW at Riot's Rockdale TX campus. Riot Platforms shifts from Bitcoin mining to AI data centers, with shares surging pre-market.
Anthropic buys Riot capacity
Anthropic PBC agreed to pay US$9.1 billion over 20 years for computing capacity from Riot Platforms Inc., a Bitcoin miner turned data center operator, as the Claude developer races to keep pace with surging customer demand. Riot’s reported customer is Anthropic, and the deal is described as a 20-year agreement to supply 191 megawatts of capacity from Riot’s Rockdale, Texas campus to a “leading frontier AI” company.
The contract is expected to run through June 2048, and NewsBytes says it includes an option to extend the contract twice, each time by five years. CoinGape also ties the announcement to market reaction, saying Riot’s stock price jumped 18% pre-market on August 11 after reports of the $9.1 billion compute deal.
Shares surge, numbers diverge
Riot Platforms’ shares surged by 25% to $24.4 in late trading after the deal was announced, according to NewsBytes, while CoinGape described an 18% move in pre-market trading on August 11. TradingView likewise said Riot secured a 20-year agreement to supply 191 megawatts of capacity from its Rockdale, Texas, campus to a “leading frontier AI” company, valuing the arrangement at about $9 billion.
The Block reported that Riot announced it signed a 20-year data center lease agreement with a “leading frontier AI lab” expected to generate roughly $9.1 billion in total contract revenue over the term. CoinDesk framed the same arrangement as a 20-year deal that grants Anthropic 191 megawatts of computing capacity with possible extensions that could raise the value to $16.1 billion.
What it means next
The Block said Riot’s delivery would be phased, with the first 96 megawatts targeted for December 2027 and the full 191 megawatts by June 2028, while TradingView said the agreement runs through June 2048. Riot’s second-quarter results that accompanied the announcement showed total revenue of $174.2 million, including $23.2 million in data center revenue and $113.7 million in Bitcoin mining revenue, according to The Block.
CoinDesk added that Riot delivered an initial 25 megawatts during the second quarter and is building another 25 megawatts, following its lease with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) that increased contracted AI capacity at Rockdale to 241 megawatts. Digitimes described the broader context as Anthropic’s scramble for AI computing power, with the deal underscoring its effort to secure capacity as customer demand surges.