Data center operator IREN has inked a significant deal with semiconductor giant Nvidia, agreeing to deploy up to 5 gigawatts of Nvidia’s DSX-branded AI infrastructure. This partnership also includes a crucial option for Nvidia to purchase up to 30 million IREN shares at $70 each, potentially representing a $2.1 billion investment.
The agreement aims to bolster AI capabilities across IREN’s global data centers, with specific mention of a $3.4 billion contract for managed GPU cloud services at IREN’s Texas facility for Nvidia’s internal workloads. This move underscores IREN’s strategic pivot towards AI infrastructure amid the ongoing AI boom.
Shares of IREN experienced a significant surge in after-hours trading on Thursday, only to relinquish nearly all gains following the announcement of a strategic partnership with semiconductor titan Nvidia. This collaboration aims to bolster AI infrastructure capabilities globally.
Nvidia and IREN forge a deal to enhance AI infrastructure.
The core of the agreement involves the deployment of up to 5 gigawatts of Nvidia's DSX-branded infrastructure designs across IREN's worldwide data center network. These advanced systems are specifically engineered to power demanding artificial intelligence workloads.
Initially, IREN shares climbed as much as 27% on the news before settling to a more modest gain of approximately 6%. A key component of the deal grants Nvidia a five-year option to purchase up to 30 million shares of IREN's ordinary stock at an exercise price of $70 per share. This provision allows Nvidia the potential to invest up to $2.1 billion in IREN.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the growing importance of "AI factories" as foundational economic infrastructure, highlighting the necessity for deep integration across compute, networking, software, power, and operations for large-scale deployments. This move by Nvidia follows a pattern of similar strategic deals, including multibillion-dollar purchase agreements with companies such as Coherent, Lumentum, and Corning, underscoring Nvidia's strategy to vertically integrate and secure AI infrastructure supply chains.
In a separate announcement, IREN revealed a five-year, $3.4 billion contract to provide Nvidia with managed GPU cloud services for its internal AI and research workloads. This deployment will be housed in IREN's existing data center in Childress, Texas.
While IREN historically specialized in data centers for bitcoin mining, the company has increasingly pivoted towards providing AI-related infrastructure services, capitalizing on the current AI boom. This strategic shift is further exemplified by a November 2025 deal with Microsoft, valued at $9.7 billion, to deploy AI cloud infrastructure powered by NVIDIA GB300 GPUs at its Childress, Texas facility. As part of that agreement, IREN also committed to purchasing the necessary GPUs and computing gear from Dell Technologies for approximately $5.8 billion.
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