Riot Platforms Anthropic deal puts 191 MW of Texas capacity toward AI
Riot’s reported 20-year Anthropic contract could generate $9.1 billion, showing why miners’ power sites matter to AI.
By Theo Nakamura · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
The reported Riot Platforms Anthropic deal would put 191 megawatts of capacity at Riot’s Rockdale, Texas campus behind an AI customer for 20 years. For investors, the agreement is a concrete example of how a bitcoin miner’s grid-connected facilities can become a second business line as AI companies seek power and data-center space.
CNBC reported that it confirmed Anthropic as Riot’s customer. Bloomberg, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, also identified Anthropic. Bloomberg said Riot’s own disclosure described the customer only as a “leading frontier AI” company, while Riot declined to comment and Anthropic did not respond to a request for comment.
The agreement is expected to run through June 2048 and generate $9.1 billion in revenue across its initial 20-year term, according to CNBC and Bloomberg. That works out to roughly $455 million a year on average, though the reports did not detail the payment schedule. Two five-year extension options could lift total sales to about $16.1 billion if exercised, the outlets reported.
Why are bitcoin mining sites useful for AI data centers?
AI workloads need large amounts of electricity and physical computing capacity. Riot has already built a power-connected computer campus for bitcoin mining, which uses specialized machines to compete for bitcoin rewards. Under the reported agreement, Anthropic would receive data-center capacity at that existing site; the deal is not a purchase of Riot or an arrangement for Anthropic to run bitcoin-mining equipment.
CNBC said investors have increasingly looked at publicly traded miners as owners of digital infrastructure, including power capacity, data centers and energy contracts, rather than only as producers of bitcoin. That distinction matters because a long-term capacity contract can add revenue tied to a tenant rather than directly to bitcoin mining conditions.
CNBC also cited the quadrennial Bitcoin halving as one factor that can squeeze mining economics by reducing incentives. When mining becomes less attractive relative to operating costs and bitcoin prices, companies with suitable sites may have a reason to seek other uses for their power and facilities.
What else does Riot have at Rockdale?
Riot already has an agreement with Advanced Micro Devices, CNBC reported. Compass Point analyst Michael Donovan characterized the Rockdale location as a two-tenant campus with $9.8 billion in contracted data-center revenue. That figure is the analyst’s assessment, not a company-confirmed total in the reports.
Riot shares initially rose more than 20% after the news before surrendering almost all of the gain, CNBC reported. Separately, Bloomberg reported the stock rose 25% to $24.40 in late trading. The reports describe different points in the market reaction and should not be read as a single closing-price move.
The contract does not establish how broadly other miners will make the same shift. It does show the appeal of scarce, already connected power capacity to AI companies, and gives Riot a reported long-term route into serving that demand.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
