Anthropic Just Gave This Bitcoin Miner a Contract Bigger Than the Whole Company

Riot Platforms, once a Bitcoin miner, has now signed a massive 20-year lease for an AI lab with Anthropic. This deal is larger than the entire company's market capitalization, which stands at $7.5 billion. The AI lab, believed to be located in Rockdale, spans 191 megawatts, with 96 MW coming online in December 2027 and the remaining capacity by June 2028.

Morgan Stanley is lending Riot $573 million to cover initial development costs. Anthropic, known for building go-to AI models, has been actively seeking compute resources, with a recent $1.25 billion monthly payment to SpaceX's AI division. The Riot-Anthropic deal is significant due to its long-term nature and the immense capital required from Riot.

Despite the potential risks, the deal could benefit Anthropic due to the fixed payment structure and potential future growth in AI compute demand.