Riot Platforms Signs $9.1 Billion Lease with Anthropic
Riot Platforms (RIOT), a Bitcoin miner transitioning into AI computing, has signed a major 20-year lease agreement worth up to $9.1 billion for high-performance compute capacity at its Rockdale facility. The deal is believed to be with Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company seeking additional computational power as demand surges across the sector. The contract will provide Anthropic access to 191 megawatts of computing power in two phases—starting December 2027 and completing by June 2028. Morgan Stanley is set to lend Riot up to $573 million for initial development costs, though Riot currently has a market cap near $7.5 billion, making the deal larger than its current valuation. Despite the size of the contract, investors have not reacted strongly due to delayed revenue and significant upfront capital requirements. The lease is fixed-rate over 20 years, potentially locking in lower returns for Riot as energy costs may rise.
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