Bitcoin Miner IREN Secures $9.7B Microsoft Deal as Industry Shifts Toward AI and GPUs

• IREN signs a $9.7 billion deal with Microsoft for GPU cloud services over five years
• Also inks a $5.8 billion partnership with Dell Technologies for GPU hardware
• Marks IREN’s full pivot from Bitcoin mining to AI cloud infrastructure
• Part of a broader industry trend as miners diversify beyond crypto
• Other firms like HIVE, MARA, Riot Platforms, and TeraWulf are making similar moves
• IREN’s stock surged over 10% following the announcement

Bitcoin mining firm IREN has taken a major leap into the artificial intelligence (AI) sector with a $9.7 billion, five-year GPU cloud services contract with Microsoft, signaling a powerful new trend in the mining industry — the shift from Bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure and GPU hosting.

Under the deal, IREN will supply Microsoft with access to Nvidia GB300 GPUs hosted across its data centers, supporting the tech giant’s expanding demand for AI computing capacity. The partnership reflects how major technology companies are increasingly turning to established mining infrastructure providers to meet the skyrocketing global demand for AI power.

IREN also announced a $5.8 billion deal with Dell Technologies, which will supply GPUs and related data center equipment. To fund these massive capital expenditures, IREN plans to use a mix of cash reserves, customer prepayments, operational cash flow, and external financing — demonstrating strong confidence in its ability to scale its AI business model.

The dual partnerships reinforce IREN’s transformation into a global AI cloud infrastructure provider, following its strategic pivot from pure Bitcoin mining earlier in 2024. Despite the shift, the company continues to rank among the largest Bitcoin miners by realized hashrate, maintaining a foothold in the crypto industry while expanding its presence in the booming AI sector.

Following the Microsoft announcement, IREN’s shares surged over 10% after the market opened Monday, reflecting investor optimism about the company’s diversified future. The deal marks one of the largest commercial agreements between a crypto-origin company and a Big Tech firm, further validating mining firms’ growing role in powering next-generation technologies.

Bitcoin Miners Turn to AI Amid Shrinking Margins

IREN’s pivot is part of a broader industry-wide transformation. As Bitcoin mining becomes increasingly competitive and energy-intensive, miners are leveraging their high-performance computing infrastructure for AI workloads, GPU hosting, and cloud services — sectors offering higher profitability and lower volatility.

HIVE Digital was among the first to transition, shifting toward AI and high-performance computing in mid-2023 and generating steady revenue from its new model. Similarly, MARA Holdings developed an immersion cooling system in 2024 to support dense AI compute workloads, while Riot Platforms began preparing for a potential AI expansion earlier this year.

Meanwhile, TeraWulf made headlines in August 2025 with a $3.7 billion hosting deal with AI cloud platform Fluidstack, backed by Google’s parent company, Alphabet. The 10-year colocation lease, with an option for five-year extensions, highlighted how deeply intertwined AI and blockchain infrastructure have become.

The Microsoft–IREN deal underscores that this shift is no longer experimental — it’s becoming the new norm. As AI demand outpaces traditional cloud capacity, Bitcoin miners’ energy access, cooling infrastructure, and scalability make them ideal partners for tech giants like Microsoft.

Final Thought

IREN’s $9.7 billion Microsoft deal marks a turning point for the Bitcoin mining industry. What began as a sector built on proof-of-work computation is now transforming into a global network of AI-ready data centers. As profit margins tighten and demand for GPU power explodes, Bitcoin miners are evolving into key players in the AI and cloud computing revolution — and IREN is leading that charge.