Anthropic secures $19bn in compute deals with Riot Platforms and Volta Infra
Frontier AI firm locks in 20-year agreement with Texas-based Bitcoin miner and six-month-old Norwegian infrastructure startup, highlighting a broader industry shift towards diverse compute sources.
Anthropic has secured approximately $19 billion in new compute contracts, marking a decisive departure from its reliance on traditional hyperscalers. The company entered a 20-year, $9 billion agreement with Texas-based Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms for 191 megawatts of capacity, alongside a $10 billion arrangement with Norwegian infrastructure startup Volta Infra Holdings for 133 megawatts. The deals underscore a strategic shift as AI labs race to secure power amid tightening infrastructure supply.
The agreement with Riot Platforms, disclosed via the miner’s filings, covers capacity from its Rockdale campus. The contract includes two five-year extension options that could increase the total value to $16 billion. Following the disclosure, Riot Platforms’ stock rose 25% in after-hours trading, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s transition from biotech diagnostics and Bitcoin mining into AI hosting.
Volta Infra Holdings, a startup founded in January by former Brookfield Asset Management executives, will deliver compute from a hydro-powered data centre in Norway. The handoff of the 133 megawatts of capacity is scheduled in two phases through March 2027. Volta holds a $2.4 billion valuation and was backed by $300 million in seed and Series A funding from Andreessen Horowitz, Altimeter, and Nvidia.
Nvidia’s involvement in the Volta deal is dual-natured, serving as both an investor and the chip supplier for the infrastructure. This highlights the circulatory movement of capital within the AI sector, where chipmakers, cloud startups, and labs increasingly fund each other’s growth. Riot Platforms, meanwhile, reported Q2 revenue of $174 million, with Bitcoin mining contributing $113.7 million and data centres $23.2 million, though the company remains in the red with losses exceeding $200 million.
The move signals a broader migration of Bitcoin miners into AI hosting, leveraging existing grid connections and land that would otherwise take years to develop. With 60% of data centres slated for 2027 yet to begin construction, Anthropic’s strategy of bypassing hyperscalers to diversify compute sources may prove prudent as the industry grapples with capacity constraints.
