Bitcoin miner IREN, previously often called Iris Power, is the most recent cryptocurrency mining firm seeking to money in on the burgeoning synthetic intelligence market, based on a presentation at its Analyst and Investor Day on July 23.
A deliberate presentation signifies the corporate plans to launch a GPU pilot at its Childress facility in Prince George.
This follows the corporate's July 16 appointment of main financial institution Morgan Stanley as monetary advisor to guage monetization alternatives within the AI knowledge middle market.
Is IREN prepared for the AI transformation?
The transfer comes lower than two weeks after short-seller Culper Analysis questioned IREN's means to assist the high-performance computing (HPC) that’s important for generative AI.
In accordance with quick sellers, IREN's flagship Childress buildout is lacking a variety of options which might be vital for HPC functions.
“IREN talks large about its HPC plans, however on the finish of the day, it appears fully tired of truly doing what it takes to compete on this area. Look no additional than IREN's personal financials: the corporate has spent lower than $1 million per MW to construct out its current websites, and has advised traders it’s going to additionally construct out Childress for lower than $1 million per MW. In the meantime, main operators, analysts and consultants all verify that the true price of creating an HPC-capable knowledge middle is round $10 million to $20 million per MW.”
However Matthew Siegel, head of digital asset analysis at VanEck, stated IREN's newest announcement instantly contradicts “Culper's quick report, which asserted that the location was unsuitable for AI/HPC attributable to an absence of energy redundancy, liquid cooling and backup fiber.”
IREN couldn’t instantly be reached for remark at press time.
Different miners are transferring in direction of AI
Whereas IREN’s AI transformation efforts are shrouded in uncertainty, different crypto mining firms have made nice strides of their AI efforts as they search to diversify income following April’s halving occasion, which impacted their backside strains.
Prior to now few months, bitcoin miner Core Scientific signed a 12-year take care of Nvidia-backed startup CoreWeave that’s anticipated to generate greater than $1 billion in income, whereas Hut 8 introduced it had raised $150 million in debt financing from non-public fairness agency Coatue to increase its AI knowledge middle portfolio.
