Riot Signs AI Data Center Leases Totaling $9.8B with Two Tech Firms

According to Pulse 2.0, Riot Platforms has signed AI data center lease agreements with two major tech clients, covering 241MW of critical IT capacity, corresponding to approximately $9.8 billion in long-term contract revenue. This move will accelerate the company's transformation from a Bitcoin mining-focused business model toward becoming a large-scale data center developer.

The larger of the two agreements is a 191MW build-to-suit lease with a leading frontier AI lab, located at Riot's Rockdale campus. The initial lease term is 20 years, expiring in June 2048, and is expected to generate approximately $9.1 billion in contract revenue.

If the client continues leasing after the base term, the revenue scale from the agreement could expand further. The agreement includes two 5-year renewal options; if both renewal options are exercised, the potential total contract value would increase to approximately $16.1 billion.

Riot expects the initial lease term alone to generate cumulative net operating income of approximately $7.3 billion to $8.2 billion, equivalent to an average annual contribution of approximately $365 million to $411 million. The first 96MW phase is expected to be delivered in December 2027, with all 191MW planned for deployment by June 2028.