Core Scientific Partners with CoreWeave, Hut 8 Shuts Down Drumheller Site

According to Blockworks, Texas-based Core Scientific, which emerged from bankruptcy in January, announced its plans to lease up to 16 megawatts of capacity in its Austin datacenter to cloud provider CoreWeave. The facility, which once housed tech giant Hewlett Packard, will now host infrastructure supporting applications in artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC). Core Scientific expects the CoreWeave deal to generate over $100 million in revenue. Core Scientific president Adam Sullivan stated that the company's diversified business model and leading scale enable them to continue operating as a low-cost bitcoin miner while also expanding their hosting customer base and diversifying their earnings streams. The multi-year contract with CoreWeave is the latest example of a large mining player seeking to get more involved in the AI and HPC realms. Hive Digital Technologies, Hut 8, and Iris Energy have also pointed to the segment as a priority. In contrast, Hut 8 announced its decision to shut down its Drumheller site in Alberta, Canada, due to elevated energy costs and underlying voltage issues impacting the site's profitability. The company plans to move its more efficient miners to its Medicine Hat facility in Alberta, while machines with an efficiency worse than 38 joules per terahash (J/TH) will no longer operate. Hut 8 will keep its lease at the Drumheller site to give it the option of re-energizing there if market conditions improve.