Cipher Mining Skyrockets After $5.5B Amazon Deal—The Former Bitcoin Miner Just Became an AI Powerhouse

Cipher Mining (CIFR) delivered what could be its defining moment as a public company this week, posting strong third-quarter results and announcing a transformative deal with Amazon Web Services that firmly positions it in the fast-growing AI data center infrastructure space. Shares of Cipher jumped roughly 15% Monday—attempting to break through the $22 level—as investors digested the implications of back-to-back partnerships with two of the world’s largest tech companies, Amazon and Google. The move underscores how a once pure-play Bitcoin miner has rapidly pivoted into one of the most credible hybrid players bridging the gap between crypto infrastructure and high-performance computing (HPC) demand.

Cipher Mining develops, owns, and operates industrial-scale data centers originally designed for Bitcoin mining but increasingly adapted for AI and cloud workloads. Headquartered in New York, the company’s facilities in Texas give it access to cheap renewable energy and large contiguous plots of land—key advantages as the AI arms race drives massive demand for compute power. For much of its life, Cipher’s business model hinged on hash rate growth and Bitcoin profitability, but with the crypto market stagnating and mining economics tightening, the company has turned decisively toward monetizing its data center infrastructure for hyperscale computing. This pivot could define the next phase of growth not just for Cipher, but for an entire class of former miners now repositioning as AI infrastructure providers.

The centerpiece of Cipher’s Q3 report was a new $5.5 billion, 15-year lease agreement with Amazon Web Services. Under the deal, Cipher will deliver 300 megawatts (MW) of turnkey capacity for AI workloads beginning in 2026. The project will roll out in two phases—launching in July 2026 and completing by the fourth quarter—with rent payments commencing in August. The agreement calls for both air and liquid cooling capabilities, reflecting the intensifying power and thermal demands of AI hardware. CEO Tyler Page called the deal “a major step forward” in establishing Cipher as a Tier 1 hyperscaler partner, noting that it marks the company’s first direct lease with a global cloud provider. The scale and duration of the lease provide Cipher with long-term revenue visibility and validate its model of repurposing mining infrastructure for AI and HPC hosting.

The AWS announcement follows last month’s landmark partnership with Google and Fluidstack, a transaction that first signaled Cipher’s strategic evolution. That 10-year hosting agreement—worth up to $3 billion—secured Google a 5.4% equity stake in Cipher and guaranteed 168 MW of capacity at Cipher’s Barber Lake, Texas, facility. Google also agreed to backstop $1.4 billion in obligations tied to the project, effectively underwriting Cipher’s financial stability as it ramps up to meet demand. When combined, Cipher’s AI hosting contracts with Google and Amazon represent roughly $8.5 billion in lease commitments—an extraordinary figure for a company that generated $72 million in revenue during the latest quarter. Adjusted earnings came in at $41 million, while Cipher reported a small net loss of $3 million (or $0.01 per share). The company also completed a $1.3 billion convertible note offering during the period, giving it the balance sheet flexibility to fund large-scale projects.

Beyond its current contracts, Cipher announced a new joint venture to develop a 1-gigawatt data center campus in West Texas named “Colchis.” Cipher expects to own about 95% of the venture under standard lease and financing terms, with American Electric Power constructing a dual interconnection facility to bring the site online by 2028. The 620-acre campus will connect directly to ERCOT’s power grid, giving Cipher a massive runway to scale future HPC or AI workloads as demand outstrips traditional hyperscale capacity. Combined with its 3.2 GW pipeline of potential sites, Cipher’s footprint now ranks among the most ambitious in the AI infrastructure space.

The stock’s sharp rally Monday reflects investor enthusiasm for what looks like a paradigm shift in the company’s trajectory. Traders see Cipher’s ability to sign multi-billion-dollar deals with both Google and Amazon within a single quarter as validation that hyperscalers are increasingly looking beyond the usual real estate investment trusts (REITs) and traditional data center operators for expansion. The company’s ability to leverage existing crypto infrastructure into AI-scale capacity makes it one of the few players capable of executing quickly and efficiently in an environment where power availability has become the new bottleneck for the AI boom.

For market participants, Cipher Mining has quickly become a key barometer for the broader “data center pivot” trade—the idea that legacy crypto miners and GPU infrastructure firms could capture sustained growth by serving AI and cloud clients. With shares up roughly 15% and eyeing a breakout above $22, the stock serves as a litmus test for momentum across the AI infrastructure ecosystem. Traders watching the move may also keep an eye on sympathy plays such as IREN (Iris Energy), HIVE Digital (HIVE), TeraWulf (WULF), and Applied Digital (APLD), all of which share exposure to high-performance computing and power capacity expansion themes.

CEO Tyler Page summed up the company’s transformation succinctly: “The third quarter was truly transformative for Cipher. We executed two milestone HPC transactions and expanded our pipeline to record levels. We’re more confident than ever that Cipher is among the best-positioned companies in the world to seize additional opportunities created by the growing power shortfall.” If the market agrees, Cipher Mining could soon evolve from a speculative Bitcoin miner into a bona fide leader of the AI data center generation.