IREN shares surge nearly 30% as bitcoin miner inks $9.7 billion AI cloud deal with Microsoft

Bitcoin miner-turned-AI diversifier IREN announced it has signed a multi-year GPU cloud services contract with Microsoft on Monday. The tech giant will gain access to IREN's Nvidia GB300 GPUs under a five-year, $9.7 billion agreement that includes a 20% prepayment.

IREN also entered into a separate $5.8 billion deal with Dell Technologies to acquire GPUs and related equipment, the company said in a statement.

The GPUs will be rolled out in phases through 2026 at IREN's 750MW Childress, Texas campus, alongside new liquid-cooled data centers supporting 200MW of critical IT load. IREN plans to finance the related capital expenditures using existing cash, customer prepayments, operating cash flow, and additional funding sources.

"We're proud to announce this milestone partnership with Microsoft, highlighting the strength and scalability of our vertically integrated AI Cloud platform," IREN co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts said. "This agreement not only validates IREN's position as a trusted provider of AI Cloud services, but also opens access to a new customer segment among global hyperscalers."

Following the news, IREN's stock gained nearly 30% at one point in pre-market trading on Monday, according to The Block's price page, before correcting. It is currently changing hands for $74.51, per TradingView — having already gained 489% year-to-date.

IREN/USD price chart. Image: TradingView.

In late September, analysts at research and brokerage firm Bernstein said IREN's AI cloud buildout could deliver $500 million in annual revenue by early 2026, more than tripling their price target for the stock to $75 — a price that's now already been hit. "As IREN continues to scale its AI business, we believe it still leaves room for multiple expansion," the analysts said on Monday.

Other AI-diversifying bitcoin miners have seen similar gains for their stocks as the burgeoning industry seeks to tap into their lucrative power and infrastructure contracts. While bitcoin mining ASIC chips are not suitable for AI workloads, these firms often have access to substantial power capacity, physical data centers, and other tech that can be adapted for GPU-hosting amid the boom.

"Together with IREN, Microsoft is delivering cutting-edge AI infrastructure for our customers," Jonathan Tinter, President, Business Development and Ventures at Microsoft said. "IREN's expertise in building and operating a fully integrated AI cloud — from data centers to GPU stack — combined with their secured power capacity makes them a strategic partner. This collaboration unlocks new growth opportunities for both companies and the customers we serve."