CoreWeave Acquires Core Scientific in $9 Billion Deal Boosting AI Infrastructure

CoreWeave, a prominent AI hyperscaling company, has announced its acquisition of Core Scientific, a leading data center operator, in an all-stock deal valued at approximately $9 billion. This strategic move is set to be completed by the end of the year, marking a significant milestone for both companies. CoreWeave, which initially started as an Ethereum miner in 2017, has since pivoted towards AI infrastructure following Ethereum's Merge. This shift has propelled the company's growth, with its revenue increasing more than eightfold last year.

The acquisition of Core Scientific is a pivotal step for CoreWeave as it seeks to expand its AI and high-performance computing (HPC) capabilities. Core Scientific, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2022 due to a net loss of $434.8 million and a $7 million shortfall tied to crypto lender Celsius Network, has since recovered and is now a valuable asset for CoreWeave. The deal includes 1.2 GW of power and 977 BTC, which will significantly bolster CoreWeave's infrastructure for AI services.

Under the terms of the agreement, Core Scientific shareholders will receive $20.40 per share, representing a 66% premium over the stock's price before the deal was announced. This acquisition not only accelerates CoreWeave's strategy to deploy AI and HPC workloads at scale but also cancels more than $10 billion in future lease obligations across various sites over the next 12 years. The ultimate transaction value will be determined at the closing, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of this year.

The acquisition is a testament to CoreWeave's aggressive expansion strategy in the AI sector. By acquiring Core Scientific, CoreWeave gains access to a robust data center infrastructure that will support its growing computational needs. This move is part of a broader trend where AI companies are racing to secure power-rich infrastructure to sustain their skyrocketing computational demands. The deal also highlights the resilience of Core Scientific, which had previously spurned a similar buyout proposal in mid-2024 but later signed long-term contracts with CoreWeave, including a 12-year deal for 200 megawatts of infrastructure support.

CoreWeave has acquired Core Scientific in an all-stock deal worth around $9 billion, pushing deeper into the data center business as demand climbs for AI and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. Under the agreement, Core Scientific shareholders will receive 0.1235 shares of CoreWeave Class A common stock for each CORZ share they own—a deal that represents a roughly 66% premium over Core Scientific’s June 25 closing price of $12.30. Once completed, shareholders will hold less than 10% of the combined company.

The acquisition adds about 1.3 GW of gross power across Core Scientific’s data center footprint to CoreWeave’s portfolio, with another 1 GW+ available for expansion. CoreWeave said it plans to pivot those assets to serve HPC and AI workloads, noting that it may eventually divest Core Scientific’s crypto mining business. Core Scientific, a major player in North American Bitcoin mining, had seen its valuation soar after rejecting an initial $5.75-per-share bid from CoreWeave early in 2024. Over the past year, the company’s market cap tripled, earnings more than doubled to $580 million in Q1 2025, and interest renewed as the firm continued to grow despite weaker revenues post-Bitcoin halving.

CoreWeave shares fell on the news but remain up over 300% year-to-date. The acquisition caps more than a year of pursuit and puts CoreWeave in control of one of the largest digital infrastructure platforms tied to both legacy crypto and future-forward compute demand. The deal comes less than two years after Core Scientific received court approval to exit bankruptcy in a major turnaround for the company. Core Scientific’s journey through bankruptcy reflected the broader challenges faced by the crypto mining industry, particularly during the “crypto winter.” At the height of the crypto boom in 2021, when Bitcoin’s value soared above $67,000, Core Scientific was the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miner by computing power. However, the dramatic fall in Bitcoin’s price to around $16,000 by December 2022, when the company filed for Chapter 11, reflected the volatility of the market and the pressures on crypto miners.