Northern Data Spends $360 Million on GPUs for Cloud Computing and AI Integration

According to CryptoPotato, German data center and Bitcoin mining operator Northern Data has invested $360 million in GPUs to enhance its cloud computing services. This move indicates a growing integration of Bitcoin miners into the AI sector, where industry firms can take advantage of existing infrastructure and economies of scale. Northern Data's AI-focused subsidiary, Taiga Cloud, announced the purchase in a press release on Wednesday. The investment, worth 330 million euros, secured the company 384 cabinets of HPE Cray XD supercomputers, equipped with approximately 8,200 NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs in total. Taiga Cloud's customers will have access to purpose-built HPE technology for generative AI innovations that deliver the scale and performance of a supercomputer required for a growing market of compute-intensive AI workloads. This investment follows Northern Data's separate purchase of 10,000 NVIDIA cloud GPUs in September, with support from Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer. Tether owns a partial stake in Northern Data and provided the company with a $609 million debt financing facility earlier this month. Northern Data also stated that its AI cloud facilities are 100% carbon neutral, addressing energy-related concerns that affect AI and data centers and Bitcoin miners alike. Earlier this month, Northern Data began construction of a 30MW mining facility in North Dakota. Since ChatGPT and OpenAI initiated rapid AI growth late last year, demand for NVIDIA's semiconductor chips has soared, with the company's stock up 226% year to date. Among the many eager customers are Bitcoin mining companies, which already possess the data centers, cooling facilities, and access to affordable energy needed to operate a cloud computing service at scale. The only missing component is the chips themselves, as the computers used to mine BTC (ASICs) are not suitable for much else. Public mining firm Iris Energy announced a revitalization of its high-performance computing data center strategy in June, while HIVE Digital began repurposing its old Ethereum mining rigs after the Merge to serve the same purpose. Experts have observed that HPC services are far more profitable per unit of energy compared to BTC mining, which is more compatible with balancing energy grids and utilizing renewable energy sources.