Cipher Mining Secures $5.5 Billion AWS Deal in Major Pivot from Bitcoin to AI

Cipher Mining, previously known as a Bitcoin mining firm, has announced a transformative $5.5 billion, 15-year agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide data center capacity for artificial intelligence workloads. The deal, set to commence in 2026, will initially deploy 300 megawatts of power using both liquid- and air-cooled systems specifically designed for high-performance computing demands of AI. Rent payments are scheduled to start in August 2026, with construction and delivery unfolding in two stages.

In addition to the AWS partnership, Cipher revealed plans for a massive new data center complex called Colchis in West Texas. This 620-acre site, targeting full activation by 2028 pending approval from ERCOT, will connect directly to the American Electric Power grid through dual interconnections. Cipher will control approximately 95% of the joint venture and provide most of the financing, with the facility engineered from the ground up to support AI training clusters, GPU farms, and other high-performance computing needs.

CEO Tyler Page described the third quarter as "truly transformative," noting that this AWS lease follows a previous 10-year, 168-megawatt hosting deal with Fluidstack, backed by a $1.4 billion guarantee from Google. Page stated, "This cements Cipher’s place among the next generation of AI infrastructure leaders." Financially, Cipher reported a third-quarter net loss of $3 million, or one cent per share, but adjusted income reached $41 million. The company also completed a $1.3 billion convertible note raise to bolster liquidity.

Cipher's AI-related hosting contracts now total approximately $8.5 billion in lease commitments, rivaling the market cap of mid-tier data center operators. Investors reacted strongly, with Cipher's stock surging over 33% to $24.81 on Monday, extending a year-to-date climb of more than 400%. This trend mirrors broader industry moves, such as IREN's $9.7 billion deal with Microsoft, highlighting how crypto miners are leveraging power contracts and infrastructure to meet soaring AI demand.