MARA’s AI Data Center Pivot: Starwood Partnership Targets 2.5 GW
MARA Holdings partnered with Starwood Capital to convert its mining sites into AI and cloud data centers targeting 2.5 GW capacity.Summary
Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings announced a strategic partnership with Barry Sternlicht's Starwood Capital Group to transform its existing mining infrastructure into data centers supporting artificial intelligence and cloud computing. The joint venture, involving Starwood Digital Ventures, will develop and operate projects across MARA's low-cost energy sites, aiming for an initial 1 GW of IT capacity with a path to over 2.5 GW. The facilities will be flexible, capable of switching between Bitcoin mining and AI compute based on market demand. MARA CEO Fred Thiel stated this offers a more capital-efficient buildout. This pivot aligns with a broader trend in the mining sector, where companies are repurposing energy assets for AI workloads due to shorter lead times, a strategy that has seen other miners like IREN and TeraWulf outperform MARA in market capitalization.
(Source：BeInCrypto)