IREN receives Nvidia 'Exemplar Cloud' status for GB300 deployment at Microsoft Horizon 1
IREN Limited, a Bitcoin miner turned AI infrastructure provider, delivered Horizon 1, its first 50MW AI data center, to Microsoft under a five-year, $9.7 billion cloud services agreement. The milestone marks the completion of the first of four planned 50MW direct-to-chip liquid-cooled deployments at IREN's Childress, Texas campus, with the remaining three Horizon facilities expected to launch later this year.
The announcement drove IREN stock up as much as 7.2% in pre-market trading Thursday, placing it among the day's top trending tickers. "Delivering Horizon 1 demonstrates the strength of our vertically integrated model and our ability to execute complex AI infrastructure projects at speed and scale," said Daniel Roberts, IREN's co-founder and co-CEO, adding that the company looks forward to "building on this momentum with Microsoft" as the remaining Horizon deployments come online.
Concurrent with the delivery, IREN achieved Nvidia's Exemplar Cloud status after Nvidia tested its GB300 NVL72 deployment at Horizon 1. The designation signals that IREN's infrastructure meets Nvidia's requirements for supporting demanding AI workloads, a credential that could strengthen the company's competitive position when bidding for additional enterprise and hyperscaler customers beyond its existing Microsoft agreement.
IREN remains on track to reach 480MW of gross AI Cloud capacity by the end of 2026, with a longer-term target of 1.2GW in 2027. The company's pivot toward AI infrastructure reflects a broader sector trend, with other Bitcoin miners including Core Scientific, TeraWulf, and Cipher Mining pursuing similar strategies.
On social media platforms, retail sentiment around IREN shifted to bullish from bearish, though some traders cautioned that the stock price could dip following the company's earnings report at month's end, when Wall Street expects a loss of $0.46 per share on revenue of $140 million. Year-to-date, IREN stock has gained over 10%, more than doubling over the trailing twelve months.