Riot Platforms shares saw a significant increase of over 13% following the announcement of a $311 million data center lease agreement with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD).
In conjunction with this lease agreement, Riot Platforms also disclosed the acquisition of 200 acres of land at its Rockdale, Texas facility for $96 million. This land purchase was fully financed through the sale of approximately 1,080 bitcoin (BTC) from the company's existing reserves.
Under the terms of the agreement with AMD, the Bitcoin miner is committed to delivering 25 megawatts (MW) of critical IT load capacity at the Rockdale site. The deployment will occur in phases, commencing this month and concluding in May.
The initial 10-year lease is projected to generate contract revenue totaling around $311 million. This agreement also includes provisions for three optional five-year extensions, which could potentially increase the total revenue to as much as $1 billion.
Furthermore, AMD has secured expansion rights for an additional 75 MW of capacity and holds a right of first refusal for another 100 MW. These provisions allow for AMD's total leased capacity to reach up to 200 MW.
Riot Leverages Texas Infrastructure for Growth
Jason Les, CEO of Riot Platforms, highlighted that the partnership with AMD "firmly establishes Rockdale as a leading data center development opportunity" and strategically positions Riot for considerable long-term value creation.
Les further elaborated that this collaboration serves as a strong validation of Riot's existing infrastructure, its development capabilities, the inherent attractiveness of its sites, its readily available power capacity, and its demonstrated ability to provide innovative solutions tailored to the specific requirements of prominent tenants.
The Rockdale site is equipped with a robust 700 MW interconnection to the power grid, a dedicated water supply, and comprehensive fiber connectivity. In combination with its Corsicana facility, Riot now controls over 1,100 acres and 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of power capacity throughout Texas, reinforcing what the company characterizes as an "unrivaled" strategic position within the state's key urban corridor.
Hasmukh Ranjan, chief information officer at AMD, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration with Riot, noting that the company's capabilities, power availability, and high-density solutions are well-aligned with AMD's infrastructure development roadmap.
Industry Trend: Bitcoin Miners Pivot to AI and High-Performance Computing
The Bitcoin mining industry is experiencing a notable shift, with many companies moving beyond solely focusing on Bitcoin mining. This pivot is driven by diminishing revenues following the 2024 Bitcoin halving event and rising operational costs, prompting these companies to explore alternative revenue streams in high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI).
In line with this trend, IREN secured a substantial $9.7 billion deal with Microsoft in November 2025. Previously, CoreWeave, a miner that focused on Ethereum, expanded its existing agreement with OpenAI in September, increasing its commitment by up to $6.5 billion, bringing the total value of their deal to approximately $22.4 billion.
CoreWeave had also entered into an agreement to acquire Bitcoin miner Core Scientific for $9 billion. However, this acquisition ultimately fell through after the shareholders of Core Scientific rejected the offer. More recently, Bitfarms and CleanSpark have witnessed an increase in their stock valuations, attributed to their respective announcements regarding the expansion of their operational footprint in the United States, specifically focusing on HPC/AI infrastructure.
These developments contribute to a competitive landscape where former Bitcoin miners are increasingly vying for limited power resources and seeking strategic technology partnerships.
Riot's capital expenditure for retrofitting the site to accommodate the initial AMD deployment is estimated at $89.8 million. This figure translates to approximately $3.6 million per MW of critical IT load capacity. The company anticipates that once operational, the lease agreement is expected to generate an average net operating income of $25 million per year.