Hut 8 Inks Landmark 245MW AI Data Center Lease with Fluidstack, Part of Broader Gigawatt-Scale Partnership
December 17, 2025
In a significant move underscoring the intense demand for AI-ready infrastructure, digital asset mining and data center firm Hut 8 Corp. has announced a major 245-megawatt capacity agreement with AI cloud provider Fluidstack. The deal, which is backed by Google's financial guarantee, represents the first concrete project under a newly revealed multi-gigawatt strategic partnership involving leading AI lab Anthropic.
The 15-year triple-net lease, valued at approximately $7 billion with potential to reach $17.7 billion if all options are exercised, covers capacity at Hut 8's River Bend campus in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. The initial data hall at the 627-acre site, which has potential for expansion to nearly 3,000 acres, is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2027. The agreement grants Fluidstack a Right of First Offer for an additional 1 gigawatt of IT capacity at future campus expansions.
Financing for the project is being provided by J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs. Asher Genoot, CEO of Hut 8, stated, "River Bend reflects the strength of Hut 8’s power-first, innovation-driven development model, validated by the world-class counterparties we are executing alongside." He emphasized the deal resulted from a focus on securing "the right transaction, not just the first."
Concurrently, Hut 8 announced a broader framework partnership with Anthropic and Fluidstack aimed at accelerating hyperscale AI infrastructure deployment in the United States. Under this partnership, Hut 8 is positioned to develop and deliver between 245MW and 2.295GW of infrastructure for Anthropic, leveraging Fluidstack-operated clusters. This collaboration taps directly into the soaring computational requirements of frontier AI models. James Bradbury, Head of Compute at Anthropic, noted that Hut 8's "ability to source and deliver infrastructure at scale provides the runway necessary to continue advancing the capabilities of our models."
The transaction highlights a key trend of cryptocurrency mining firms leveraging their expertise in securing large-scale power and real estate to pivot into the high-growth AI data center sector. For Anthropic, the deal further diversifies its infrastructure footprint beyond its previously announced $50 billion partnership with Fluidstack and a separate 1GW+ agreement with Google Cloud. Google, which holds a stake in Anthropic, is providing credit support for the Fluidstack agreements, mitigating development risk.
With this deal, Hut 8 advances a significant portion of its extensive development pipeline, which it claims totals 10.6GW of capacity in various stages. The company currently has around 1GW in operation and 1.5GW in active development.
Source: datacenterdynamics
Hut 8 Secures Major 245MW AI Infrastructure Deal with Fluidstack, Backed by Google
