IREN (IREN) Swaps Bitcoin Rigs For Microsoft’s (MSFT) GPU Contracts

IREN (NASDAQ:IREN) spent years mining Bitcoin. On August 27, the company told investors that the chapter is closing for good. Fourth-quarter AI cloud revenue more than doubled to $70.5 million, and IREN now has $4 billion in contracted revenue booked against its 2026 capacity, with $1 billion of that already generating cash. The proof point behind those numbers landed in August 2026, when IREN delivered the first phase of a liquid-cooled data center to Microsoft. A company built on crypto mining rigs is trying to convince the market it is now an AI infrastructure company, and the early numbers back that up.

The Money Chasing Every Megawatt

The clearest sign customers believe in IREN's build-out is how they are paying for it. Recent three-year contracts are pricing above $20 million per megawatt of IT load, a level management said pays back the compute investment in roughly two years, and active discussions for new capacity are running closer to $25 million per megawatt. Customers are also funding the build themselves: prepayments on recent deals cover 45% to 55% of GPU capital spending, money IREN is using to help pay for the data centers those chips sit inside. That confidence is showing up in the financing markets too.