Google acquired 5,4% of shares Bitcoin-miner Cipher Mining in a multi-year, $3 billion deal with AI data center firm Fluidstack.
Google is said to receive its stake in Cipher Mining in exchange for guarantees to fulfill Fluidstack’s $1,4 billion contractual obligations with Cipher. This is part of Fluidstack’s even larger $3 billion deal with Cipher for a 10-year lease of computing power.
As part of the deal, Cipher will provide Fluidstack with 168 megawatts of computing power, with a maximum total capacity of 244 megawatts, at its Barber Lake site in Colorado City, Texas. The site’s total capacity could reach 500 megawatts.
Google, in turn, will cover Fluidstack’s $1,4 billion lease obligations to Cipher Mining. In exchange, the internet giant will receive warrants to acquire approximately 24 million Cipher common shares, representing approximately 5,4% of the miner’s stake.
Cipher CEO Tyler Page said the deal would strengthen the company’s position in high-performance computing.
We believe this transaction will be the first of several in the high-performance computing space as we continue to expand our capabilities and strengthen our position in this fast-growing sector,» he said.
This isn’t Google’s first investment in mining companies. At the end of August, the search giant became the largest shareholder in the miner TeraWulf, acquiring 14% of the company in exchange for warranties as part of a separate deal with Fluidstack.