Riot Platforms surges 11% as lease deal with AMD marks major AI infrastructure pivot

Riot Platforms (RIOT) has fully joined a growing group of bitcoin miners that are altering their business plans to take advantage of the fast-growing demand for AI infrastructure.

The company announced on Friday morning that it had acquired land at its 200-acre Rockdale site in Milam County, Texas, on a fee-simple basis for $96 million. The funding for the purchase was done entirely through the sale of about 1,080 bitcoin BTC$66,792.52 from the company balance sheet.

Alongside, Riot signed a long-term Data Center Lease and Services Agreement with leading chipmaker AMD (AMD), marking Riot’s first hyperscale data center tenant. The initial lease covers 25 MW of critical IT load with phased delivery starting in January 2026 and completing in May 2026, using retrofitted existing buildings. The agreement has an initial 10-year term and is expected to generate about $311 million in revenue. Options held by AMD could bring total contract revenue to $1 billion.

"Riot now owns and manages over 1,100 acres and 1.7 GW of power capacity across its two Texas facilities, which are separated by approximately 100 miles," read the press release. "Together, they anchor an unrivaled, leading position in the 'Texas Triangle,' a formation of the major urban centers of Texas bounded by Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio."

RIOT is higher by nearly 11% in active early Friday trading.