Archive — US — techcrunch
Microsoft inks $9.7B deal with Australia’s IREN for AI cloud capacity
Microsoft signed a $9.7 billion, five-year deal with Australia’s IREN to enhance AI cloud capacity, gaining access to infrastructure with Nvidia’s GB300 GPUs. The deal anticipates a phased deployment through 2026, supporting 750 MW capacity. This follows Microsoft's prior deals for GPUs, underlining their strategy to meet rising AI service demands.
Key points
- Microsoft signed a $9.7B contract with IREN for AI cloud capacity.
- The deal includes access to Nvidia’s GB300 GPUs and is set to be phased in by 2026.
- Microsoft aims to meet growing demand for AI services with this new capacity.
- IREN, initially a bitcoin miner, is transitioning to AI workloads, expected to generate $1.94B in annual revenue from this deal.
- Microsoft previously launched an AI production cluster with Nvidia and signed another GPU contract with Nscale.
Why it matters
- The deal aligns with current trends of increasing AI demand and cloud computing. As of 2025, AI technology is expected to further dominate IT strategies.
- Similar shifts are noticed where companies are pivoting from traditional data processing to AI-centric operations to leverage high-performance computing resources.
This $9.7 billion deal exemplifies Microsoft's commitment to bolstering AI capabilities, reflecting a broader industry trend towards maximizing cloud infrastructure for AI applications.