Bitcoin miner-turned-AI-infrastructure provider IREN signed a transmission connection agreement Wednesday for a planned 800-megawatt data center campus in Bundey, South Australia. The campus marks the company's first Australian data center project. The move aims to capitalize on growing demand for artificial intelligence compute across the Asia-Pacific region. Tech companies are scrambling to secure power, land, and connectivity to support high-performance compute AI workloads, and South Australia offers abundant clean energy and connectivity to serve the APAC region.
IREN Campus Connects South Australia to Asia-Pacific AI Markets
IREN expects the site to be operational in 2028, pending regulatory approvals. The campus will tap into South Australia's high-voltage transmission network and connect the country to major regional demand centers including Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. Co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts said in a statement that South Australia offers what AI infrastructure at scale requires: abundant clean energy, the connectivity to serve the APAC region, and a State Government that understands the opportunity and is acting on it.
IREN Secures Microsoft Deal and Nvidia Partnership
The announcement follows a string of major AI initiatives from IREN over the past year. The company reached a multibillion-dollar AI cloud agreement with Microsoft and established a partnership with Nvidia. Earlier this week, IREN secured $3.65 billion in A-rated financing backed by its Microsoft contract, helping fund nearly all the GPU spending tied to that agreement.
IREN Shares Rise Following Campus Announcement
IREN shares were up nearly 4% in the first hours of market trading on Wednesday to $69 following the announcement, not far off its $76.87 year-over-year high. VanEck's head of digital asset research, Matthew Sigel, estimated the campus could be worth roughly $8 per share to IREN, even after heavily discounting the estimate due to the project still being in the very early stages of development.
FAQ
What did IREN announce on Wednesday?
IREN announced it signed a transmission connection agreement for a planned 800-megawatt data center campus in Bundey, South Australia, marking the company's first Australian data center project.
When does IREN expect the South Australia campus to be operational?
IREN expects the site to be operational in 2028, pending regulatory approvals.
How much financing did IREN secure earlier this week?
IREN secured $3.65 billion in A-rated financing backed by its Microsoft contract earlier this week, helping fund nearly all the GPU spending tied to that agreement.
