CleanSpark reveals Meta as tenant in $6.6B AI data center deal

What's the deal? CleanSpark shares rose 6% in early trading after an SEC filing revealed Meta as the previously unnamed tenant for the former Bitcoin miner's first AI data center. The deal — a 20-year, $6.6 billion lease for 175 critical IT megawatts at CleanSpark's Sandersville, Georgia facility — was first announced on July 14, but the counterparty was kept secret until now.

Why now? CleanSpark disclosed the tenant as it seeks a $2 billion round to finance the Sandersville site, at a time when capital could tighten following the Federal Reserve's rate hike yesterday.

What's the endgame? The filing shows Meta holds a letter of intent for 885 megawatts across CleanSpark's Seeley and Brazoria sites in Texas, having signed an exclusivity agreement for them. Meta is also serving as guarantor of rent and operating expenses, backstopping the deal.

In a related move in the power hunt, startup Rune launched yesterday after a $40 million round. It plans to deploy containerised, modular data centers — which it claims can be set up in under a minute — on solar farms worldwide, with its flagship site in Texas.

The signal: Former Bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI infrastructure as GPU demand climbs and power becomes the primary constraint. Despite data center moratoriums in some states, one analysis notes projects in the hardest-hit areas are still racing to deploy gigawatts of capacity — suggesting the AI buildout is far from slowing.

Image credit: NeoSpire