Activist investor Starboard Value is urging Bitcoin miner Riot Platforms to accelerate its expansion into high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence data centers.
In a Wednesday letter to executives, Starboard Value, which holds about 12.7 million shares of Riot, said that the company could generate between $9 billion and $21 billion in equity value contribution from AI/HPC data centers in Texas. The shareholder said that “time is of the essence,” stressing urgency in getting “more material deals completed” as it moves deeper into AI and HPC.
“With 1.4 [gigawatts] of gross capacity remaining to be monetized, Riot is in an enviable position – but it must execute with excellence and urgency,” said Starboard. “We believe Riot should be able to attract high-quality tenants for tier-3 data centers with terms similar to or better than the peer transactions announced towards the end of 2025.”
Starboard referred to Riot’s primary sites in Corsicana and Rockdale, Texas, where other crypto miners also operate due to low energy costs and friendly regulations.
Riot shares rose nearly 6% shortly after the Nasdaq open on Wednesday. Industry tracker CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF was down less than 1%, by comparison.
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“The recently announced transaction with Advanced Micro Devices […] is a positive signal and confirms our views regarding the intrinsic value of Riot’s key sites, but it is a small proof of concept deal, and we, like you, expect significantly more,” said Starboard, referring to a data center lease and services agreement announced in January.
Many mining companies pivoting away from crypto
Riot Platforms is not the only crypto company shifting some of its operations into AI and HPC amid increasing mining difficulty and other costs. CleanSpark, MARA Holdings, Core Scientific, Hut 8, and TeraWulf repurposed some of their infrastructure or announced similar plans in a move toward AI.
Cango, another Bitcoin miner, sold $305 million worth of its BTC holdings last week in part to fund its planned expansion into AI and HPC.
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