New York, May 8, 2026, 04:09 EDT
- Nvidia secured a five-year option to purchase as many as 30 million IREN shares for $70 apiece, potentially putting $2.1 billion on the line if certain deployment and other requirements are met.
- IREN has inked a five-year deal worth $3.4 billion to deliver managed GPU services for Nvidia, supporting the chipmaker’s internal AI and research tasks.
- IREN’s recent quarter highlighted the price of its pivot from bitcoin mining, with revenue dropping to $144.8 million and net loss deepening to $247.8 million.
Nvidia is set to invest as much as $2.1 billion in IREN Limited through a fresh AI infrastructure tie-up, offering the Nasdaq-listed data center player a heavyweight ally as it looks to convert its bitcoin mining operations into AI cloud services. IREN stock jumped roughly 9% after hours, finishing the session at $56.85, according to Reuters.
Timing is key here, with the AI rush still bumping up against a relentless bottleneck: compute resources. GPUs — the backbone chips for AI training and deployment — demand massive, power-hungry data centers, and those don’t spring up overnight. IREN, calling itself a “neocloud,” aims to step in as a specialist renting out Nvidia-powered computing muscle to firms that want AI firepower but can’t wait years to build out their own. Reuters
IREN plans to provide Nvidia with managed GPU services under the cloud contract, tapping Mirantis for orchestration and cluster-management software. The deal involves air-cooled Blackwell GPUs running on about 60 megawatts of existing data-center capacity in Childress, Texas. Ramp-up is slated to begin in early 2027.
The deal could see as much as 5 gigawatts of Nvidia DSX-ready AI infrastructure rolled out across IREN’s global network. “AI factories are becoming foundational infrastructure,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang commented. According to IREN co-CEO Daniel Roberts, bringing Nvidia’s architecture into the fold with IREN’s energy, land, and data-center footprint forms the crux of the collaboration. InvestorsHub
Roberts, in separate comments, described the global landscape as “structurally short compute,” pointing to data-center and GPU capacity as the key choke points. IREN put its annual recurring revenue under contract at $3.1 billion, aiming for $3.7 billion by the close of calendar 2026. Annual recurring revenue measures the annualized total from contracts or anticipated repeat business. GlobeNewswire
Pressure lingered through the quarter. IREN posted revenue of $144.8 million, down from $184.7 million the previous quarter. Net losses deepened to $247.8 million, compared with $155.4 million before. That bottom line took a hit from $140.4 million in non-cash impairments—decommissioned bitcoin-mining rigs made up the bulk—plus $23.7 million in unrealized losses on its convertible-note hedges.
Chief Financial Officer Anthony Lewis told analysts on the earnings call that bitcoin-mining revenue dropped to $111.2 million, down from $167.4 million, as IREN powered down mining rigs to prepare for new GPU installations. AI cloud services brought in $33.6 million, up from $17.3 million—a smaller piece of the pie, but management is urging investors to keep a closer eye on that line.
IREN is pushing into Europe. The firm announced it’s buying Spain’s Ingenostrum, S.L.—better known as Nostrum Group—bringing in roughly 490 megawatts of secured, grid-connected capacity in Spain. That takes IREN’s total portfolio to 5 gigawatts. Nostrum chief Gabriel Nebreda said the new, combined group would be ready to serve European clients, including “sovereign AI programs.” GlobeNewswire
Competition is heating up, and the price tag is rising. CoreWeave—another Nvidia-linked neocloud player—has bumped the floor on its 2026 capex outlook to $31 billion, up from $30 billion, citing pricier components. The company also reported a revenue backlog that now stands at $99.4 billion. According to Reuters, demand for neocloud outfits like CoreWeave and Nebius has surged as tech firms scramble for AI hardware and cloud resources.
IREN’s move to secure Nvidia chips comes after striking a five-year, $9.7 billion cloud agreement with Microsoft, which gives Microsoft access to those Nvidia chips at IREN’s Childress campus. The Microsoft deal boosted credibility for IREN’s strategic shift. Still, there’s a catch: Reuters noted the contract could be pulled if IREN falls short on delivery schedules.
Still, this Nvidia deal doesn’t mean instant cash for IREN. The share-purchase right hinges on several factors—regulatory hurdles among them. In its own update, IREN spelled out risks tied to financing, getting sites built, deploying GPUs, delivering to customers, and the overall transition to high-performance computing. On top of that, the company needs to wrap up and integrate its Spain acquisition, even as capital demands for expansion stretch well past its current operations.
Nvidia’s warrant puts IREN on a tighter timeline—and ups the ante. According to management, demand isn’t the bottleneck. The real challenge: lining up power, buildings, chips, and getting customers operational without delays. That’s what the market will be watching.
