NVIDIA backs AI data center firm IREN in $2B deal
What's the story
Data center operator IREN has partnered with semiconductor giant NVIDIA to deploy up to 5 gigawatts of the latter's DSX-branded infrastructure designs. The collaboration is aimed at supporting artificial intelligence (AI) workloads across IREN's global data center facilities. As part of the deal, NVIDIA will invest up to $2.1 billion in IREN and get a five-year option to buy up to 30 million shares of its ordinary stock at an exercise price of $70 per share.
Strategic insight
AI factories are foundational infrastructure for the global economy
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said "AI factories are becoming foundational infrastructure for the global economy." He added, "Deploying these systems at scale requires deep integration across the full stack — compute, networking, software, power and operations." This statement highlights Huang's vision for future tech and data center operations.
Business evolution
IREN's recent partnerships and agreements
IREN, which previously focused on Bitcoin mining data centers, has been expanding into AI-related infrastructure services amid the ongoing AI boom. In November 2025, IREN and Microsoft signed a multi-year $9.7 billion deal to provide GPU cloud infrastructure powered by NVIDIA GB300 GPUs at its Childress, Texas data center. The company also entered an agreement with Dell Technologies to purchase GPUs and related computing gear for about $5.8 billion as part of that deal.
Market response
IREN shares surge on AI factory partnership with NVIDIA
IREN's shares jumped nearly 27% on the news of its partnership with NVIDIA, before settling up about 6%. This deal is part of a broader strategy by both companies to accelerate the deployment of large-scale AI factories by integrating NVIDIA's factory architecture with IREN's infrastructure operations.