Businessupdated 1h ago2 min read
Riot Platforms Signs 15-Year 910 MW Corsicana AI Lease Valued Near $28 Billion
“the AI tenant, identified as Anthropic in the company’s quarterly filing, will own and operate the computing equipment”
“The tenant, which Riot identified only as ‘a leading Frontier AI Lab,’ will lease 910 megawatts (MW)”
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Riot signs 15-year, 910 MW Corsicana powered-land lease valued around $28 billion. Frontier AI Lab tenant will own and operate equipment; Riot provides land and power infrastructure.
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Riot locks in Corsicana
Riot Platforms signed a 15-year, triple-net powered land lease for its entire Corsicana, Texas campus with a leading frontier AI lab, valuing the initial term at approximately $28 billion and covering 910 megawatts of critical IT capacity. Riot CEO Jason Les told listeners, "a 15-year, triple-net powered land lease" would be the largest lease in Riot's history, and the company said the deal is expected to generate roughly $1.8 billion of average annual rent.
Riot reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $181.4 million and said it sold 20,264 bitcoin year-to-date for approximately $1.5 billion to fund data center development. Riot also said it ended the quarter with $950.2 million in cash and bitcoin and that it does not currently anticipate issuing equity to fund its announced projects.
Execution and financing
Riot said the Corsicana lease delivery runs in phases, with 400 MW in September 2027, 200 MW in January 2028, and 310 MW in July 2028. Riot said rent starts as it hands over each powered pad, with commencement able to slip up to 60 days if the tenant's modules are not installed.
Riot described its funding plan as non-recourse project debt sized to contracted rent, while it said the tenant would initially fund reimbursements if financing on comparable market terms is not available. Riot also said the company expects to launch Corsicana financing in 2027 and currently expects no equity issuance for announced projects, while it cited a $573 million Morgan Stanley interim loan in place for Rockdale credit support.
Peers react as Hut 8
Riot shares surged after the $28 billion lease announcement, with one report saying Riot stock was at $16.88, up 20% in early action. Hut 8 shares plunged more than 22% at one point after the company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly revenue amid its transition toward AI infrastructure, and Hut 8's third-quarter revenue fell 15% to $71.1 million.
Riot CFO Sean Glennan said the legacy revenue base is no longer the main growth driver, while contracted infrastructure revenues remain tied to delivery milestones, and he attributed Hut 8's decline partly to asset sales and lower revenue per Bitcoin mined. Riot also said its Bitcoin mining at Corsicana could begin winding down in summer 2027, even as it reported selling 10,599 BTC during the quarter to help finance its data center expansion.