Riot Platforms stock surged 25% in after-hours trading on August 10 after the Bitcoin mining company announced a landmark $9.1 billion, 20-year data center deal with Anthropic, one of the leading AI labs in the world. The agreement, disclosed in Riot’s second-quarter earnings report, secures 191 megawatts of computing capacity at Riot’s Rockdale, Texas campus and marks a defining moment in the company’s transformation from digital asset mining to large-scale AI infrastructure.
Under the terms of the contract, which runs through June 2048, Riot expects to generate $9.1 billion in total revenue. The agreement also includes two five-year extension options that, if fully exercised, could bring the total contract value to approximately $16.1 billion, according to Riot’s official press release.
The deal represents Anthropic’s aggressive push to secure long-term computing resources. In just three months, the AI company has locked in over $60 billion in total compute contracts, including a $45 billion agreement with SpaceX and a $10 billion deal with cloud infrastructure startup Volta, according to TradingKey reporting. This resource accumulation is aimed at ensuring Anthropic’s compute supply remains unconstrained over the coming decade and strengthening its competitive position against rivals such as OpenAI and Google.
For Riot, the Anthropic contract accelerates its strategic pivot away from Bitcoin mining. In the second quarter, Riot reported total revenue of $174.2 million, up 14% year-over-year, with data center revenue reaching $23.2 million—including $4.9 million in operating lease revenue from its initial 25-megawatt deployment to AMD. Bitcoin mining revenue fell to $113.7 million in the quarter, down from $140.9 million in the same period last year, primarily due to lower average Bitcoin prices and increased network hash rates.
Riot’s CEO Jason Les called the Anthropic announcement “a defining moment in our evolution into a leading developer of large-scale data centers.” Combined with the earlier AMD lease, Riot has now contracted 241 megawatts of capacity with two major companies in the AI ecosystem, representing approximately $9.8 billion in long-term contracted revenue. The company is leveraging its multi-gigawatt-scale power capacity, in-house data center expertise, and ability to engineer custom infrastructure for demanding computing workloads.
The Anthropic deal reflects broader industry trends. AI infrastructure providers are racing to meet surging demand for computing capacity, with data center operators facing occupancy rates projected to climb from 85% in 2023 to over 95% by late 2026, according to industry analysis. Large tech companies have committed nearly $2.4 trillion in spending on data center infrastructure over the coming years, underscoring the scale of the AI buildout.
Delivery of the Anthropic capacity is scheduled in phases, with the initial 96 megawatts expected in December 2027 and full deployment of all 191 megawatts by June 2028. Morgan Stanley provided a $573 million interim financing facility to fund initial development costs. Riot’s track record on timely delivery strengthens investor confidence: the company completed its initial 25-megawatt AMD deployment on time and on budget in the second quarter, with additional 25-megawatt expansion phases scheduled for November 2026 and May 2027.
The stock surge reflects investor optimism about Riot’s positioning in the AI infrastructure race. All 12 analysts covering the stock maintain Buy or Outperform ratings, according to market data, with price targets reflecting confidence in the company’s ability to convert strong tenant demand into shareholder value. The deal validates Riot’s strategy of converting its existing power infrastructure—over 1.7 gigawatts in total pipeline—into high-margin data center leases to AI and high-performance computing firms.
Sources
- Riot Platforms — official press release on second-quarter 2026 financial results and the 20-year Anthropic data center lease agreement
- TradingKey — reporting on the $9.1 billion Anthropic-Riot deal, stock surge, and Anthropic’s broader compute procurement strategy
- Bloomberg / Yahoo Finance — reporting on the deal announcement and stock movement in after-hours trading
- Seeking Alpha — analysis of Riot’s transition to AI data center hosting and Q2 2026 strategic highlights
- Barchart — reporting on Riot’s pivot from Bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure and nuclear energy partnerships
