AI company Anthropic PBC has entered into a computing capacity supply agreement with Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms Inc. (RIOT) valued at approximately $9.1 billion, with the latter having recently begun offering AI data center computing power to external clients. The deal underscores Anthropic’s intense efforts to secure sufficient computing capacity to meet the growing demand from customers of its AI model Claude. Boosted by the news, Riot’s stock surged 25% in after-hours trading to $24.24. The agreement runs through June 2048 and is expected to generate $9.1 billion in revenue over the contract term. The agreement also includes two renewal options, each extendable for five years, and if both are fully exercised, the total contract value could reach up to $16.1 billion.
In recent months, Anthropic has entered into several agreements with multiple AI cloud computing providers to strengthen its computing capacity reserves, following previous bottlenecks in computing power caused by surging customer demand. In May of this year, Anthropic signed a $10 billion agreement with Volta Infra Holdings Ltd., a computing infrastructure startup founded only a few months prior; that same month, it also agreed to purchase nearly $45 billion in computing services from Elon Musk’s xAI.
Riot, formerly known as Bioptix, which produced diagnostic equipment for the biotechnology industry, later fully transitioned into Bitcoin mining operations. Today, the company is among a growing number of cryptocurrency firms diversifying into cloud computing, seeking to capitalize on opportunities presented by the AI boom. In addition, Riot has announced another agreement with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to collaborate on building computing infrastructure.
Riot Platforms reported its second-quarter 2026 earnings after the market closed on August 10. Thanks to robust growth in its data center business, the company’s revenue exceeded expectations, but its net loss widened significantly, weighed down by factors including non-cash impairments on Bitcoin holdings. In the second quarter, Riot achieved total revenue of $174.2 million, up 14% year-over-year and surpassing the consensus estimate of $171.6 million. This included $23.2 million in data center revenue, $37.3 million in engineering revenue (more than triple the $10.6 million reported in the same period last year), and $113.7 million in Bitcoin mining revenue. At the end of the quarter, the company held over $1.2 billion in current assets, including 11,380 Bitcoins and $548.9 million in cash. On the earnings front, the GAAP net loss reached $237.2 million, or $0.68 per share, exceeding market expectations of a $0.39 loss per share. The loss was primarily driven by non-cash items such as fair value changes in Bitcoin holdings and depreciation, with adjusted EBITDA loss at $70 million.
