IREN lifts AI cloud revenue target to $4B after $2.8B in new deals
What's the deal? IREN has signed $2.8 billion in new multi-year cloud service contracts with several leading AI developers and raised its end-2026 annualised recurring revenue (ARR) target to over $4 billion, up from $3.7 billion. The stock rose more than 9% in pre-market trading after the announcement.
What does IREN do? The company — formerly Iris Energy — provides AI cloud infrastructure across bare-metal and managed cloud services. It has spent the period since 2025 shifting from Bitcoin mining to AI computing, retrofitting its existing infrastructure into an AI platform.
Who are the clients? IREN's roster now includes Microsoft, NVIDIA, Perplexity, Figure AIDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Together AI, Fluidstack, Fireworks AI, Fal AI, Hume AI, and one undisclosed developer. About 85% of the revised $4 billion target is already locked in through contracts, which run about four years on average.
Why now? IREN said demand from hyperscalers, enterprises, and AI developers keeps exceeding its current and planned capacity. It is in talks with clients over further expansion for 2026 and 2027.
The finances: The new contracts include customer prepayments equal to roughly 45% of related GPU capital expenditure, cutting IREN's net funding needs. As of June 30, 2026, it held about $7.6 billion in cash and equivalents, including $1.7 billion in restricted cash tied to its Microsoft Horizon contracts.
What's the endgame? Co-founder and co-chief executive officer Daniel Roberts said the company's "vertically integrated AI cloud platform is expanding rapidly." Self-built capacity has grown from about 3MW to a planned 480MW in 2026, with a target of 1.2GW by 2027.
What could go wrong? Revenue is recognised gradually after each data centre is delivered, as GPUs are tested and accepted by customers. Analyst views also diverge: 16 rate the stock "Buy" with an average $80.93 price target, but JPMorgan has placed it on a short list — reflecting the speculative appeal around the high-growth firm, currently valued near $12 billion.
The signal: IREN's pivot underscores how idle crypto-mining infrastructure is being repurposed to meet surging AI compute demand. Having already signed a $9.7 billion contract with Microsoft, the company is fast becoming a serious player in AI cloud — if it can deliver capacity on schedule.
Read more: NAI500
Image credit: bugeaters
