Riot Lands $9.1B AI Lease As Anthropic Emerges As Rockdale Tenant

11-Aug-2026 Crypto Adventure
Riot Lands $9.1B AI Lease As Anthropic Emerges As Rockdale Tenant

Riot Platforms has signed a 20-year agreement to provide 191 megawatts of critical IT capacity at its Rockdale, Texas campus, creating a $9.1 billion contracted revenue stream as the Bitcoin miner accelerates its expansion into artificial intelligence infrastructure.

The August 10 agreement runs through June 2048 and includes two additional five-year options that could lift total contract revenue to approximately $16.1 billion.

Riot identified the customer only as a leading frontier AI lab in its public disclosure. Anthropic is the company behind the agreement, people familiar with the transaction told Bloomberg. Riot and Anthropic had not publicly named each other as counterparties when the deal was announced.

First 96 MW Scheduled For December 2027

Riot will construct a Tier 3 build-to-suit data center for the tenant at Rockdale, with the first 96 MW of critical IT capacity scheduled for delivery in December 2027. The remaining capacity is expected to come online by June 2028.

The company expects the initial 20-year term to generate cumulative net operating income between $7.3 billion and $8.2 billion, equivalent to an average annual contribution of roughly $365 million to $411 million.

Morgan Stanley is providing a $573 million interim financing facility to fund initial development while Riot finalizes an investment-grade credit backstop.

The lease was also disclosed through Riot’s August 10 Form 8-K, alongside second-quarter results showing $174.2 million in revenue, up 14% year over year. Data-center operations contributed $23.2 million during the quarter.

Rockdale AI Capacity Reaches 241 MW

The Anthropic-linked agreement follows Riot’s earlier contract with AMD, which initially covered 25 MW at Rockdale before AMD exercised an option for another 25 MW.

Riot has completed delivery of the first 25 MW, while construction of the second phase is underway. The two customers now account for 241 MW of contracted critical IT capacity and approximately $9.8 billion of long-term contracted revenue.

The expansion reflects a broader shift across the mining sector as operators monetize power infrastructure for AI workloads. Bitcoin mining stocks previously rallied as large AI infrastructure agreements increased the value of available data-center capacity.

MARA has pursued a similar diversification strategy while using its Bitcoin treasury as a source of capital, including 23,093 BTC sold for $1.6 billion as it expanded into AI and energy infrastructure.

RIOT Shares Jump After Lease Disclosure

Riot shares closed Monday at $19.40 before surging above $24 in after-hours trading following the lease disclosure and identification of Anthropic as the tenant. The move briefly pushed the stock roughly 25% above its regular-session close.

Riot’s Rockdale agreement also gives the new tenant a conditional first-priority right over an additional 100 MW of capacity that had previously been subject to an AMD right of first refusal.

The initial 96 MW deployment remains scheduled for December 2027, with the full 191 MW expected to be operational by June 2028.

The post Riot Lands $9.1B AI Lease As Anthropic Emerges As Rockdale Tenant appeared first on Crypto Adventure.

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