Riot Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:RIOT) shares rose about 4% on Tuesday after the bitcoin mining company announced a 20-year data center lease with a leading frontier AI lab in a deal valued at approximately $9.1 billion over its initial term. The tenant was not identified by Riot, but the deal has been widely reported to be with Anthropic.
The agreement covers 191 megawatts of critical IT capacity at Riot’s Rockdale campus and is expected to generate approximately $9.1 billion in total contract revenue through June 2048. The lease includes two five-year extension options that could bring the total potential contract value to approximately $16.1 billion if both are fully exercised.
Riot said the lease is expected to generate cumulative net operating income of between $7.3 billion and $8.2 billion over the initial 20-year term, representing an estimated average annual NOI contribution of $365 million to $411 million.
The company expects to deliver the capacity in phases, with the initial 96 IT megawatts scheduled for December 2027 and the full 191 IT megawatts expected to be deployed by June 2028. Riot said the project will leverage its existing, fully approved interconnection at the Rockdale campus.
The agreement marks Riot’s second tenant at the Rockdale campus, following its lease with Advanced Micro Devices. Together, the two agreements cover 241 megawatts of capacity and represent approximately $9.8 billion in long-term contracted revenue, according to Riot.
“Today’s announcement of a landmark 20-year, 191-megawatt data center lease with a leading frontier AI lab marks a defining moment in our evolution into a leading developer of large-scale data centers,” Riot CEO Jason Les said in a statement.
“It builds directly on a strong second quarter, in which we completed delivery of the initial 25 megawatts to AMD on time and on budget. In just over six months, Riot has now executed leases totaling 241 megawatts of capacity, representing approximately $9.8 billion of long-term, contracted revenue with two of the most important companies in the AI ecosystem.”
The reported identity of the tenant has also added to speculation around a potential Anthropic initial public offering.
Reports have suggested the AI company could target a valuation of $965 billion to more than $1 trillion in a potential IPO as early as fall 2026.
Anthropic reportedly reached a $965 billion post-money valuation following a $65 billion Series H funding round. The company has also reportedly submitted a confidential draft Form S-1 registration statement to the SEC, while reports have pointed to a potential listing as early as October.