Shares of IREN Limited experienced a significant surge in after-hours trading following the announcement of a strategic partnership with Nvidia. The company, which formerly operated under the name Iris Energy, saw its stock price climb by 27% to $72.28 after closing at $56.85 earlier in the day. Although the price pulled back to $69.45 at the time of reporting, it was still up over 21% from the previous close.
The partnership with Nvidia, unveiled on Thursday, is centered around a five-gigawatt agreement focused on the development of AI infrastructure within IREN’s global data center network. As part of this alliance, IREN granted Nvidia a five-year option to purchase up to 30 million ordinary shares at a set price of $70 per share. This potential transaction could amount to $2.1 billion, although it is subject to various conditions, including regulatory approvals.
The collaboration aims to leverage Nvidia-aligned DSX AI factory infrastructure, with plans for future deployments primarily around IREN’s two-gigawatt Sweetwater campus located in Texas. Additionally, the company announced a separate five-year contract valued at $3.4 billion for AI Cloud services, utilizing air-cooled Blackwell GPUs. Deployment for this contract is expected to occur within 60 megawatts of existing data centers in Childress, with a startup ramp anticipated for early 2027.
This move reflects IREN’s strategic shift away from its identity as a bitcoin mining entity. While bitcoin continues to be a key revenue source for the company, the market’s reaction indicates a growing investor interest in companies that possess power resources, land, data center experience, and a legitimate strategy to capitalize on the expanding AI computing market.
Co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts highlighted the current demand for computing resources, asserting that the market is “structurally short compute.” He emphasized the challenge posed by limited data center and GPU capacity, aligning with IREN’s strategy to utilize its power portfolio and development pipeline to attract AI sector clients while bitcoin mining profits experience volatility.
In its latest quarterly report, IREN posted total revenues of $144.8 million, a decrease from $184.7 million in the previous quarter. Conversely, revenue from AI Cloud Services saw an uptick, reaching $33.6 million. The stock closed at $56.65 prior to the after-hours surge, marking a notable shift in investor sentiment spurred by the promising partnership with Nvidia.
