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## Introduction
Hut 8 Corp. has officially marked its transition from a Bitcoin mining giant to a tier-1 AI infrastructure provider. On December 17, 2025, the company announced a landmark partnership with **Anthropic** and **Fluidstack** to build a massive AI data center campus in Louisiana. The deal is underpinned by a 15-year lease valued at $7 billion, with **Google** providing a financial backstop for the lease obligations.
- **TL;DR:** Hut 8 secures a 15-year, $7 billion lease to host Anthropic's AI workloads via Fluidstack.
- **Scale:** Starts at 245 MW, scalable up to 2,295 MW (approx. 2.3 GW).
- **Key Backer:** Google guarantees the lease payments, significantly de-risking the project.
- **Market Reaction:** Hut 8 shares surged over 12% upon the announcement.
## The Deal Mechanics: From Mining to Hyperscale
The core of this agreement involves developing the **River Bend campus** in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. While Hut 8 provides the energy and physical shell (power, cooling, land), **Fluidstack** will operate the high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, and **Anthropic** will be the end customer utilizing this compute power for training and inference of its Claude models.
This move leverages Hut 8’s expertise in managing energy-intensive workloads—a skill honed through years of Bitcoin mining—and applies it to the booming demand for AI compute.
**Why it matters:**
This validates the thesis that crypto miners are sitting on valuable "power real estate." By pivoting to AI, Hut 8 trades the volatile revenue of Bitcoin mining for stable, long-term, institutional-grade cash flows guaranteed by a tech giant.
## Google’s Role: The Financial Backstop
A critical detail that elevates this deal is the involvement of **Google**. According to the lease terms, Google (a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.) is providing a "financial backstop" covering the lease payments and related pass-through obligations for the 15-year base term. This structure effectively transfers the credit risk from a startup or mid-sized operator to one of the world's most creditworthy companies (rated AA+ by S&P).
### Partnership Tranches & Expansion
| Phase | Capacity (IT) | Description |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Tranche 1** | **245 MW** | Initial deployment at River Bend. Target online: Q2 2027. |
| **Tranche 2** | **1,000 MW** | Right of First Offer (ROFO) for expansion at River Bend. |
| **Tranche 3** | **1,050 MW** | Optional capacity across Hut 8's broader development pipeline. |
| **Total** | **~2,295 MW** | Potential total scope of the partnership. |
**Why it matters:**
With Google backing the payments, Hut 8 can secure project financing on favorable terms. Indeed, J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs are already lined up to underwrite approximately 85% of the loan-to-cost (LTC) for the project.
## Strategic Implications for the AI Supply Chain
The project is set to come online in **early 2027**, a timeline that aligns with the expected release of next-generation foundation models requiring unprecedented compute density. The River Bend site utilizes a **"power-first"** development model, securing 330 MW of utility capacity initially with a path to scale beyond a gigawatt.
Fluidstack's CEO, Gary Wu, emphasized that this partnership is designed to "solve compute challenges at scale," allowing Anthropic to focus on model capabilities rather than infrastructure bottlenecks.
**Why it matters:**
The AI industry is facing a severe shortage of "ready-to-power" data center sites. Deals like this suggest that the bottleneck is shifting from chip supply (GPUs) to energy and facility availability. Hut 8's ability to deliver GW-scale power positions it as a critical enabler in the AI arms race.
## Conclusion
Hut 8’s partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack is a transformative moment for the company and the broader digital infrastructure sector. By securing a $7 billion contract backed by Google, Hut 8 has successfully repurposed its power assets for the AI era.
* **Financial Stability:** 15-year guaranteed revenue replaces crypto volatility.
* **Scale:** A clear path to 2.3 GW establishes a massive growth runway.
* **Credibility:** Partnering with Anthropic, Fluidstack, and Google validates Hut 8's execution capability.
***
### Summary
- Hut 8 signs 15-year lease for 245 MW AI data center (expandable to 2.3 GW).
- Deal valued at $7 billion (base) to $17.7 billion (max extensions).
- **Google** provides financial backstop for lease payments.
- Facility located in Louisiana; expected online in Q2 2027.
### Recommended Hashtags
#Hut8 #AIInfrastructure #Anthropic #Fluidstack #Google #DataCenter #HPC #CryptoToAI #Energy #CloudNative
### References
- **Hut 8 Announces AI Infrastructure Partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack**
PR Newswire | 2025-12-17
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hut-8-announces-ai-infrastructure-partnership-with-anthropic-and-fluidstack-302644377.html
- **Hut 8 Signs 15-Year, 245 MW AI Data Center Lease (Google Backstop)**
PR Newswire | 2025-12-17
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hut-8-signs-15-year-245-mw-ai-data-center-lease-at-river-bend-campus-with-total-contract-value-of-7-0-billion-302644600.html
- **Hut 8 Shares Rise on Anthropic AI Data Center Partnership**
MarketWatch | 2025-12-17
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/hut-8-shares-rise-on-anthropic-ai-data-center-partnership-with-fluidstack-2130f280
- **Hut 8 shares soar as data center firm inks $7 billion lease**
Yahoo Finance | 2025-12-17
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hut-8-shares-soar-data-132342622.html
- **Hut 8 Targets Gigawatt-Scale AI Infrastructure**
Market Chameleon | 2025-12-17
https://marketchameleon.com/articles/b/2025/12/17/hut-8-targets-gigawatt-scale-ai-infrastructure-with-anthropic-fluidstack-partnership
- **Hut 8 Mining stock jumps after AI partnership**
Investing.com | 2025-12-17
https://www.investing.com/news/analyst-ratings/hut-8-mining-stock-jumps-after-ai-partnership-with-anthropic-fluidstack-93CH-4413141
- **Hut 8, Fluidstack to Build AI Data Center for Anthropic**
WSJ | 2025-12-17
https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/hut-8-fluidstack-to-build-ai-data-center-for-anthropic-in-louisiana-62dade43
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