- September 1, 2023
- Posted by: [email protected]
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Iris Energy, a Nasdaq-listed company, has invested $10 million in acquiring 248 cutting-edge Nvidia H100 GPUs. This strategic move signifies Iris Energy’s intention to expand its horizons beyond its core focus on Bitcoin mining and delve into the realm of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
The company is eagerly anticipating the delivery of these 248 GPUs in the coming months and has ambitious plans for their deployment in the field of cloud computing. Iris Energy aims to capitalize on its existing data centers by using these GPUs to meet the increasing demands of generative AI computing.
Daniel Roberts, the co-founder and co-CEO of Iris Energy, emphasized the company’s unique position in the industry to cater to the ever-growing appetite for sustainable computing solutions. “We believe demand for sustainable computing is unlikely to diminish, and we believe we are uniquely positioned to capture ongoing growth in the broader industry,” he said.
Iris Energy operates in regions blessed with abundant renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, and hydro. To maximize the utilization of low-cost excess renewable energy for Bitcoin mining, the company has strategically set up its modular data centers in close proximity to these energy sources. Currently, Iris Energy boasts four major data center mining facilities, located in Canal Flats, Mackenzie, and Prince George in Canada’s British Columbia, as well as the Childress site in Texas.
The trend of renewable-powered Bitcoin mining continues to gain momentum, with Genesis Digital Assets Limited establishing a new data center in Sweden in August 2023, powered by the abundant energy from the nearby Porjus Hydroelectric Power Station.
In a parallel development, Blockstream recently unveiled its intention to raise up to $50 million to procure, store, and subsequently offer BTC mining hardware in preparation for Bitcoin’s upcoming halving event in 2024.
Nvidia, a renowned GPU hardware manufacturer, has been reaping the benefits of the surge in AI-powered tools and AI computing. In May 2023, the company’s total market capitalization crossed a significant milestone of $1 trillion. Nvidia also teased its forthcoming GH200 Grace Hopper Superchip, highly touted for its capabilities in processing complex generative AI workloads, including large language models, recommender systems, and vector databases.
