TeraWulf secures $19 billion AI lease with Anthropic, shares surge

AI startup Anthropic signed a 20‑year lease with U.S. AI‑infrastructure provider TeraWulf for up to 401 MW of computing capacity at the Justified Data campus in Hawesville, Kentucky. The contract is projected to generate about $19 billion in contracted revenue over its term, with initial operations slated for the second half of 2027 and full capacity by early 2028.

Simultaneously, TeraWulf agreed to sell its 50.1 % stake in the 168‑MW Abernathy joint‑venture in Texas to an investor group led by Fluidstack for roughly $450 million, monetising a prior $450 million investment. The combined announcements marked a clear shift from Bitcoin mining to AI‑focused data‑center services. TeraWulf’s stock jumped as much as 18 % in early trading before settling with a gain of roughly 5 % to $22.21, while peer AI‑infrastructure firms IREN, Cipher and others also posted sizable gains.

The deal underscores a broader industry trend of former crypto miners repurposing power‑ready sites for high‑performance AI workloads, reflecting growing demand for dedicated AI infrastructure in the United States.