AI Demand Surge Drives Crypto Miners to Transform Data Center

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Hongji Feng

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Hongji Feng

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Hongji is a crypto and tech reporter. He graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a Bachelor's and a Master's. He has previously interned at HTX (Huobi Global),...

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June 6, 2024 02:27 EDT

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The surge in GPU demand is driving crypto miners to transform their data centers to meet the needs of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

According to a recent report by Bloomberg, with AI’s unprecedented demand for data center and GPU resources, crypto mining companies are finding new opportunities in the AI sector by converting their existing infrastructures.

Computing Power Demand Driven by AI Industry

The AI boom has led to an unprecedented shortage of industry-powering equipment and supplies, along with the electricity required to power these resources.

The report indicated that new facilities under construction are rapidly being leased, with about 83% of the capacity already claimed by AI companies and cloud-service providers, according to a March report by commercial real-estate firm CBRE Group.

To meet the growing demand for data-center space, many companies are turning to crypto-mining firms, which already possess the necessary infrastructure and are seeking more profitable uses for their properties.

“Just getting cold-called, or getting text messages from industry peers that are looking for capacity because they are finding that it is just not there,” Core Scientific Chief Operation Officer Matt Brown described his experience at a Nvidia-hosted conference.

“Everyone is just scrambling to figure out in the next 12 months where they can find capacity, and it is getting exponentially more difficult,” said Brown.

Core Scientific’s Partnership with CoreWeave

This collaboration trend was highlighted as Core Scientific announced a partnership with AI startup CoreWeave, expected to generate approximately $3.5 billion in revenue over 12 years.

“We view the opportunity in AI today to be one where we can convert existing infrastructure we own to host clients who are looking to install very large arrays of GPUs for their clients that are ultimately AI clients,” stated Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan.

The company has identified about 500 megawatts of capacity available for conversion to AI facilities, potentially the largest GPU installment dedicated to AI globally. This capacity is sufficient to power hundreds of thousands of homes for a year.