TheBlock
IREN has delivered Horizon 1, the first of four planned AI cloud deployments to Microsoft under a five-year, $9.7 billion contract signed in November 2025. Horizon 1 is a 50-megawatt direct-to-chip liquid-cooled build running Nvidia GB300 GPUs at IREN's Childress, Texas campus. Horizon 2, 3, and 4 are slated to ship later this year, bringing the full deployment to 200 MW of IT capacity.
Why it matters
Horizon 1 was also granted Nvidia Exemplar Cloud status, a designation reserved for providers that meet Nvidia's performance and reliability bar for production AI workloads. That certification is a credential, not a logo: it tells Microsoft and other future hyperscaler customers that IREN's stack passes the same gauntlet Nvidia runs its reference cloud partners through. Co-CEO Daniel Roberts framed the delivery as proof of the vertically integrated model: power, cooling, and GPU procurement under one roof, executed on Microsoft-grade timelines.
The contract itself is the larger story. IREN secured a $3.65 billion debt package in June, rated A by Fitch and A(low) by DBRS, covering roughly 96% of the $5.81 billion in GPU spend tied to the Microsoft buildout. Investment-grade financing on the back of a single hyperscaler contract is rare for a former bitcoin miner, and it let IREN pivot from mining to AI cloud without diluting shareholders into the GPU arms race.
Market impact
IREN is targeting 480 MW of AI cloud capacity in 2026 and 1.2 GW by 2027, up roughly 6x and 15x respectively from today's deployed base. That trajectory positions the company as one of the better-capitalized neocloud operators chasing the post-mining AI infrastructure thesis. Shares were up 2.6% to $45.22 on Monday after touching $46.50, though the stock is still up less than 6% year to date. The marginal buyer is now pricing AI execution risk, not mining hashprice, and Horizon 1's on-time delivery is the first data point that lowers that risk premium.
Frequently asked questions
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What did IREN deliver to Microsoft under the $9.7 billion deal?
IREN delivered Horizon 1, the first of four planned 50 MW direct-to-chip liquid-cooled AI cloud deployments at its Childress, Texas campus, running Nvidia GB300 GPUs. The remaining three phases are expected later this year, bringing total capacity under the contract to 200 MW.
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How much is IREN's contract with Microsoft worth?
The five-year cloud services agreement signed in November 2025 is worth $9.7 billion and runs through 2030. A $3.65 billion investment-grade debt package secured in June funds roughly 96% of the $5.81 billion in GPU spending tied to the contract.
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What is Nvidia Exemplar Cloud status?
It is a designation Nvidia awards to cloud providers whose infrastructure meets its performance and reliability standards for production AI workloads. Horizon 1 received the status alongside delivery, signalling that IREN's stack meets the bar Microsoft and other hyperscalers grade partners against.
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How much AI cloud capacity is IREN targeting?
IREN is targeting 480 MW of AI cloud capacity by the end of 2026 and 1.2 GW by 2027, up roughly 6x and 15x respectively from its current deployed base. The Microsoft contract covers a portion of that buildout through four Horizon phases.
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Why is a former bitcoin miner building AI data centers?
IREN and several peer former miners have pivoted to AI and high-performance computing to capture demand for power-intensive data center capacity, which pays a premium over bitcoin mining economics and uses the same power and cooling infrastructure the miners already built.
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