Cipher Mining inks 10-year AI HPC deal at Barber Lake with Fluidstack

Cipher Mining on Monday announced a 10 year agreement to host high performance computing for AI at its Barber Lake facility in Texas, securing roughly 168 megawatts of critical IT capacity and an initial contract value of about 3 billion, with two five year extension options that could raise revenue to about 7 billion. The deal, struck with AI hosting platform Fluidstack, includes a financing arrangement in which Google will receive warrants to buy roughly 24 million Cipher shares, representing about 5.4 percent pro forma ownership, and will guarantee 1.4 billion of Fluidstack’s lease obligations to support project debt financing.

Cipher said the Barber Lake site, located near Colorado City, has 244 megawatts of gross capacity with room to expand up to 500 megawatts and that the contracted 168 megawatts are expected to be operational in late 2026. Cipher plans to retain full ownership of the project and to use capital markets and the new financing to fund construction. The company also disclosed a 1.1 billion convertible note offering due in 2031 priced at a zero percent coupon, which management said preserves ownership of Barber Lake while providing low-cost capital.