Crypto mining companies are quickly changing their business models to become AI data center companies because artificial intelligence is creating huge demand for powerful computing infrastructure.
One of the biggest examples is Anthropic, which has signed a 20-year lease with TeraWulf to use a new AI data center in Hawesville, Kentucky, as per the official TeraWulf press release. The lease is expected to generate around $19 billion in revenue for TeraWulf during the initial 20-year period, making it one of the company’s biggest long-term deals.
AI data center project explained
The data center is located about one hour southwest of Louisville, Kentucky, and is being built at TeraWulf’s Justified Data Campus. The campus will provide around 401 megawatts (MW) of computing power for AI workloads, which is enough to support very large AI systems. The project will be built in different phases instead of all at once.
The first phase is expected to begin delivering power during the second half of 2027. The entire campus is expected to reach its full 401 MW capacity by early 2028. Investors welcomed the announcement, and TeraWulf shares jumped more than 16% in premarket trading after the deal was announced, as reported by CNBC.
TeraWulf CEO Paul Prager said the Anthropic agreement proves the company’s strategy is working and creates a long-term, stable source of revenue with one of the world’s leading AI companies. The company also said the lease is expected to be backed by an investment-grade credit, giving TeraWulf greater confidence that the payments will be reliable.
TeraWulf’s AI expansion plans
Alongside the Anthropic deal, TeraWulf announced that it is selling its 50.1% ownership stake in the Abernathy Joint Venture in Texas to an investor group led by Fluidstack. The Abernathy project was created in 2025 to build a 168 MW AI data center campus in Abernathy, Texas. After the sale is completed, Fluidstack will continue leading the Texas project.
TeraWulf said the sale allows it to cash out an investment worth around $450 million, at a value higher than what it originally invested. The company plans to use the money from the Texas sale to invest in new AI infrastructure projects where it has full ownership and operational control.
CEO Paul Prager said that when TeraWulf bought the Kentucky site in February 2026, the company expected to secure a major customer by the end of the second quarter of 2026, and the Anthropic agreement fulfills that goal, as noted by CNBC.
Why TeraWulf is leaving crypto mining
TeraWulf now describes itself as a company that develops, owns and operates digital infrastructure for artificial intelligence, high-performance computing (HPC) and other advanced computing workloads instead of focusing only on crypto mining. The company’s strategy reflects a broader shift happening across the crypto mining industry, where companies are moving into AI infrastructure because AI data centers can provide bigger and more stable long-term income than crypto mining.
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TeraWulf’s stock has gained more than 80% this year, showing that investors have responded positively to its move toward AI infrastructure, even though the stock had fallen during the previous week before the Anthropic announcement, as per CNBC report.
AI demand is driving the change
The company has also been raising large amounts of money to expand its AI business. It recently completed a $3.2 billion high-yield bond sale to help finance the expansion of its Lake Mariner data center in New York. According to the company, investor demand for the bond sale was extremely strong, with orders exceeding $11 billion.
TeraWulf is also working with Morgan Stanley and other banks to explore additional loans that could support future AI infrastructure expansion, as reported by Investing.com. The company recently acquired another large AI development site in Eastern Kentucky, called the Muskie Data Campus, which is expected to support more than 1 gigawatt (GW) of future data center capacity.
Several Wall Street analysts have supported TeraWulf’s AI strategy. BofA Securities started coverage with a Buy rating, Bernstein SocGen Group gave it an Outperform rating, and Citizens repeated its Market Outperform rating, pointing to strong AI demand and progress on the company’s data center projects.
The Anthropic agreement is one of the clearest signs that crypto mining companies are transforming into AI infrastructure providers, as demand for AI computing continues to grow rapidly and technology companies look for massive amounts of data center capacity.
Why TeraWulf and Anthropic are driving the shift from crypto mining to AI data centers
