Hut 8 Signs $10B AI Data Center Lease in Texas
HOUSTON — Hut 8 Corp. has signed an approximately $10 billion lease for an artificial intelligence data center in Texas, one of the largest AI infrastructure deals in the United States, according to Reuters.
Shares of the Bitcoin mining and AI infrastructure company jumped on the news.
The deal marks a pivot for Hut 8, which has repositioned itself from a pure-play cryptocurrency mining operation to a broader digital infrastructure provider. The company joins a growing roster of firms leveraging existing energy procurement expertise and data center operations to serve the AI compute market.
Texas has emerged as a leading destination for AI data center development, driven by relatively affordable electricity, a deregulated power grid, favorable state policies and abundant land for large-scale facilities. The state already hosts major data center operations from hyperscalers including Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft.
The roughly $10 billion commitment ranks among the largest single AI infrastructure leases disclosed in the U.S. market.
The deal also highlights the growing convergence between cryptocurrency mining infrastructure and AI computing. Both industries require large amounts of electrical power and cooling capacity, and several former mining companies have sought to repurpose or expand their facilities to serve AI customers at higher rates for compute access.
AI data center investment in the United States has grown in recent years, with technology companies, private equity firms and infrastructure developers committing capital to build out domestic computing capacity. The buildout has drawn attention from policymakers concerned about energy grid impacts and from investors seeking exposure to the sector.
