IREN Soars 30% After Inking $9.7B AI Cloud Deal With Tech Giant Microsoft

Core Insights - Microsoft signed a $9.7 billion purchase agreement for AI cloud capacity from IREN, marking a significant validation for the neocloud sector [1] - IREN plans to purchase $5.8 billion worth of GPUs from Dell Technologies and anticipates nearly $1.9 billion in annualized revenue from this deal [2] - The deal highlights the transition of miners' hardware from volatile assets to strategic compute resources, linking blockchain and AI [3] Company Developments - IREN, previously focused on bitcoin mining, is now pivoting towards AI infrastructure, joining other companies like CoreWeave and Crusoe [2] - IREN's shares surged over 30% in premarket trading, contributing to a 500% increase in stock value this year due to the AI hardware boom [2] Industry Trends - The neocloud sector is emerging as a significant player in the AI infrastructure landscape, with companies repurposing energy-intensive mining operations for AI workloads [2] - Microsoft is leveraging leasing contracts with providers like IREN to address the growing demand for Azure AI services amid a global GPU shortage [3]