MARA Holdings Expands AI Capabilities with Major Investment in Exaion

According to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings has announced a significant move into artificial intelligence (AI) by acquiring a 64% stake in Exaion, a subsidiary of Électricité de France, for $168 million. This strategic investment marks MARA's largest AI venture to date, with an option to increase its stake to 75% by 2027 through an additional $127 million investment, contingent on achieving specific performance milestones. The agreement, revealed on Tuesday, aims to enhance MARA's global AI and high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities, positioning Exaion for larger-scale international deployment to serve enterprise and public-sector clients. The transaction is expected to finalize in the fourth quarter, pending necessary approvals. Exaion, known for developing HPC data centers and providing AI and cloud infrastructure, collaborates with industry leaders such as Nvidia and Deloitte. MARA's CEO and chairman, Fred Thiel, emphasized the importance of data protection and energy efficiency, stating that the combined expertise of MARA and Exaion will enable the delivery of secure and scalable cloud solutions tailored for the future of AI. This expansion into AI comes at a time when Bitcoin mining difficulty is increasing, leading to higher energy consumption and challenging miner profitability unless they adopt more efficient equipment or reduce energy costs. MARA, recognized as the largest Bitcoin miner by production, network hash rate, and market capitalization, has been slower than other industry players in venturing into AI. Thiel explained that MARA chose not to be part of the initial wave of AI and HPC data center expansions, opting instead to partner with Exaion, which already possesses the necessary expertise, customer base, and track record. This strategic decision allows MARA to advance quickly and credibly in the AI sector. Despite facing competition, MARA remains a dominant force in Bitcoin mining. In July, MARA mined 703 Bitcoin, slightly trailing competitor IREN, which achieved a record 728 Bitcoin. The decrease in production was attributed to fewer active machines for mining. Nonetheless, MARA's revenue surged 64% year-on-year to $238 million in the second quarter, and it holds 50,000 Bitcoin valued at nearly $6 billion, making it the second-largest Bitcoin treasury after Michael Saylor's Strategy.