CleanSpark Lands $6.6B AI Lease, Pivoting From Bitcoin Mining

CleanSpark has agreed to a 20-year lease worth $6.6 billion to convert its Sandersville, Georgia facility into a high-performance computing and artificial intelligence data center. The agreement with an unnamed, high investment-grade technology firm covers the site's full 250-megawatt gross capacity, which includes 175 megawatts of critical IT load. The deal signals a decisive pivot away from the company's core Bitcoin mining operations.

The transaction is structured as a triple-net lease, pushing most operating expenses onto the tenant. CleanSpark expects the arrangement to generate roughly $330 million in average annual net operating income. Chief Financial Officer Gary Vecchiarelli noted that direct costs will be minimal and projected that net operating income margins "should be close to 100%."

Management emphasized the strategic importance of securing a top-tier tenant for this infrastructure build-out. "This morning we announced the signing of a 20-year triple net lease agreement directly with a high investment grade global technology company that will transform our 250-megawatt facility in Sandersville, Georgia, into our first high-performance compute data center," Chief Executive Matt Schultz said. The company plans to fund the conversion primarily through project debt rather than corporate equity.

The base contract includes two five-year extension options that could extend the total lease term to 30 years. If those options are exercised, the overall contract value would climb to approximately $11.6 billion. CleanSpark is also currently in an exclusivity window with the same technology counterparty regarding its power assets in Sealy and Brazoria, Texas.

For investors, the strategy represents a fundamental derisking of the business model. The company is trading the regulatory and price volatility of cryptocurrency mining for the predictable, long-term cash flows of enterprise AI infrastructure.