Nvidia to Invest Up to $2.1 Billion in IREN for AI Infrastructure, Funds Corning Fiber-Optic Factory
Nvidia secures option to invest $2.1B in IREN, betting big on AI factory buildout.
Nvidia has secured a five-year option to invest up to $2.1 billion in IREN, purchasing up to 30 million shares at a fixed $70 strike price. The strategic partnership, subject to regulatory approvals, aims to deploy 5 gigawatts of Nvidia DSX-aligned AI infrastructure across IREN's global pipeline. The initial focus will be on IREN's 2GW Sweetwater campus in Texas, which is expected to become a flagship deployment for Nvidia's AI factory architecture. IREN, a "neocloud" provider, already operates cloud services built on Nvidia processors and has a $9.7 billion cloud agreement with Microsoft.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang emphasized that AI factories are foundational infrastructure for the global economy, requiring deep integration across compute, networking, software, power, and operations. The deal signals strong confidence in IREN's scalability and comes as major US tech companies boost AI capex to over $700 billion annually. IREN shares rose roughly 9% in extended trading following the announcement. The partnership could accelerate AI infrastructure buildout for startups and enterprises, tying Nvidia's hardware to long-term capacity commitments and expanding the addressable market for its DSX stack.
- Nvidia gains a five-year option to invest up to $2.1B in IREN at $70/share, pending regulatory approval.
- Partnership targets 5GW of DSX-aligned AI infrastructure, starting with IREN's 2GW Sweetwater campus in Texas.
- IREN shares rose ~9% after hours; big tech combined AI capex is expected to exceed $700B this year.
Why It Matters
Nvidia locks in large-scale AI infrastructure capacity, signaling sustained demand for its GPUs and factory architecture.