Why bitcoin miner CleanSpark beat Microsoft for Wyoming AI data center deal, and what it means for crypto mining’s future
CleanSpark, a Las Vegas based bitcoin miner, is moving into artificial intelligence, beginning to develop AI data centers alongside its crypto-mining business. The company’s CEO laid out details of the recently announced strategy on CNBC’s “Crypto World” this week, and why it’s likely to become core to the business models of more crypto mining companies.
One key example of why bitcoin miners can win in the booming data center market: CleanSpark recently won a 100-megawatt site in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and beat out the tech giant Microsoft for the contract, according to its CEO.
How did a company with a market cap under $6 billion best a $4 trillion company?
Speed to market.
“We were able to scale up and deploy 100 megawatt bitcoin mining facility in about six months, where to build a proper AI data center is going to take three to six years,” CleanSpark CEO Matt Schultz said on CNBC. “Certainly, Cheyenne didn’t select CleanSpark because we had a stronger balance sheet than Microsoft,” he added.
The shift comes as competition for power intensifies, and in a sense, brings CleanSpark full circle, with Schultz noting that it started as an energy company before shifting to bitcoin mining five years ago and becoming one of the largest mining operations.
CleanSpark operates about 1.03 gigawatts of energized facilities and has another 1.7 gigawatts in its development pipeline. Schultz said the plan is to use bitcoin mining to rapidly build out and scale the infrastructure, or “monetizing megawatts” as he referred to it, and then where data centers are already established, identify areas where it makes more sense to convert those to high performance compute and AI. Atlanta is one area he cited as a a prime example of an AI data center hotspot, second only to Northern Virginia on the East Coast.
“Bitcoin miners are uniquely positioned in that we have the ability to build out and energize data centers very rapidly,” Schultz said. “Where we’re seeing constraints is on access to power,” he added.
An array of bitcoin mining units inside a container at a CleanSpark facility in College Park, Georgia, on April 22, 2022.
Elijah Nouvelage | Bloomberg | Getty Images
On Tuesday, CleanSpark announced a partnership with Submer, a data center design and construction firm, to develop AI- focused campuses across North America. The aim is to combine CleanSpark’s energy and land portfolio with Submer’s liquid-cooled, high density infrastructure systems.
“We are positioned to deliver AI capacity at gigawatt scale, faster, cleaner, and more efficiently than traditional approaches,” Schultz said in a press release announcing the deal. “This relationship perfectly aligns with our vision of transforming CleanSpark’s infrastructure platform into the backbone of the next era of intelligent computing,” he said.
Training and running AI models requires enormous power. Hyperscalers like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft are spending record sums on new data centers, and signing deals at a fast pace with utility companies to build new nuclear reactors and restart mothballed ones, but face years of delays in connecting to the grid.
“Hyperscalers are spending 60% of their free cash flow on capex to try and keep up with AI,” Schultz said on CNBC. “Bitcoin miners already own what’s hardest to get: land, substations, and direct access to electricity,” he added.
Shares of Cleanspark have gained more than 100% this year, but the pivot also helps offset shrinking crypto margins. April’s bitcoin halving cut block rewards in half, which tightened profitability.
Performance of bitcoin mining company Cleanspark in past one-year period.
According to the U.S. government, total annual electricity consumption reached a record high in 2024 — and data centers are expected to add pressure to that usage trend if the market continues to grow despite fears of a bubble in the AI sector.
“As we analyzed the opportunities, it was readily apparent that the cash flows and the profitability for a pivot, a strategy that is down dual tracks, maximizing the value of bitcoin mining operations but also using access to land and power to provide AI data center services, is really the most appealing for shareholders,” Schultz told CNBC.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2025, the bitcoin miner brought in around $198.6 million in revenue, which was up almost 91% year over year. Meanwhile, it holds 12,703 bitcoin in its corporate treasury.
Schultz said the AI expansion won’t replace crypto. “It’s [bitcoin mining] a terrific part of our business,” he said.
CleanSpark also benefits from a flexible power model. Its mining operations can shut down during grid stress and push electricity back into the system. This is something AI centers cannot easily do.
“Blending a bitcoin mining facility with an AI data center gives you the ‘interrupt’ ability, the flexibility of those loads that the utility so desperately needs,” Schultz said.
When there is increased demand on the grid, Cleanspark receives signals from utilities and can curtail loads and push power back to the grid rapidly. AI data centers are “the opposite side” of that approach, Schultz said, with many of the agreements requiring uptime of 99.99999%.
That flexibility proved valuable in Georgia when hurricane Helene damaged a local substation. CleanSpark powered down its rigs and redirected energy to the grid. “The lights came back on at the hospital within an hour while they restored the community infrastructure,” Schultz said.
LiveWire, the electric motorcycle brand spun out of Harley-Davidson, has just given us a closer look than ever at its upcoming lower-cost, smaller-format electric motorcycles ahead of their larger unveiling at the Milan Motorcycle Show (EICMA) next week.
While we got our first glimpse of the new machines earlier this summer, spotting a street and trail version of the smaller electric motorbikes, now we have a name for the models and a few more details.
Officially called the S4 Honcho, the new model will be a 125-cc equivalent that will be available in both a street-legal version capable of being operated by riders who possess a moped/light motorcycle license in Europe or a motorcycle license in the US, and a license-free off-road version.
“The S4 Honcho Street will qualify for A1 licenses in Europe and the UK and M-endorsement in the U.S., offering lightweight, urban-friendly electric mobility with intuitive performance and removable batteries,” explained the company.
The bikes appear to be powered by a centrally-mounted, chain-driving electric motor and a pair of removable batteries accessed by flipping up the seat.
LiveWire has remained fairly tight-lipped regarding the major tech specs for the bikes, as well as the price, but we do get a look at the dual removable batteries thanks to a new image posted to the company’s website.
There, we can see what appears suspiciously similar to a pair of KYMCO Ionex batteries, which would make sense given LiveWire’s close partnership with the Taiwanese scooter giant.
A couple years ago at EICMA I had the chance to check out KYMCO’s new Ionex batteries and e-scooter platform firsthand, which you can see in the video below.
While excitement has been building for LiveWire’s smaller electric motorcycles, the full unveiling of the bikes’ performance figures as well as the price tag will prove critical for gauging whether or not the mini-bikes could be a major turning point for LiveWire’s elusive profitability.
But the company isn’t betting it all on one horse, or one Honcho. Also in attendance at the show will be LiveWire’s full-scale concept of an electric maxiscooter built on the same S2 architecture that powers the company’s currently best-selling models, the S2 Del Mar, S2 Mulholland, and S2 Alpinista.
That scooter, built in partnership with KYMCO, will leverage the company’s fully developed S2 platform to create a more comfortable, high-performance urban and suburban-oriented model.
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Tesla is talking about finally bringing the next-generation Roadster to production in new job listing.
However, you shouldn’t hold your breath.
The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was unveiled in 2017 and was supposed to enter production in 2020, but it has been delayed each year since then.
It has become a running gag in the Tesla community and an example of CEO Elon Musk’s tendency to stretch the truth about timelines.
Since missing its original 2020 production timeline, Musk has given six updated production timelines for the new electric supercar, and each has been wrong.
The latest timeline hasn’t even been about producing the vehicle. It has been about the unveiling of a new version of the next-generation as the last prototype of what is supposed to be a “next-gen” car was unveiled almost a decade ago.
Musk has been talking about an unveiling and demonstration of the New Roadster by the end of the year.
This week, Tesla has posted a new job listing for a ‘Manufacturing Engineer, Roadster‘. In the job description, Tesla mentions working on battery manufacturing equipment for the Roadster:
Tesla is looking to hire a Manufacturing Engineer to contribute to the concept development and launch of battery manufacturing equipment for our cutting-edge Roadster vehicle. In this role you will take large scale manufacturing systems for new battery products and architectures from the early concept development stage through equipment launch, optimization and handover to local operations teams. Battery development is at the heart of our company, and this is an exciting opportunity to work directly on the central challenges for the all-new Roadster product architecture while still in its early development stages.
The comment does point to Tesla starting to set up manufacturing for the production of the new Roadster.
Since this does sound like early manufacturing development work, it would be optimistic to hope to see new Roadsters rolling off the production line by the end of next year. More likely to be in 2027.
In its updated annual installed production capacity chart, Tesla listed Roadster production as still being in the “design development” phase as of last week:
The location of Roadster production is also listed as “to be determined.”
The new job listing for a manufacturing engineer on the Roadster program mentions being based in Fremont, which could mean Tesla plans to launch production at its California factory.
Tesla next-gen Roadster
As unveiled in 2017, the new Roadster was supposed to get 620 miles (1,000 km) of range and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.
It was listed for $200,000, and a “Founder Series” was also offered for $250,000.
At the time, Tesla used the Roadster as a prize for its referral program when it badly needed to generate sales. A few dozen Tesla owners referred enough new sales to win one or two free new Roadsters each.
Some have suspected that Tesla didn’t want to bring the vehicle to production because it would have to deliver over 30 of them for free and hundreds more at heavy discounts due to its original referral program.
Others believe that updates to the vehicles have led to delays.
Shortly after the unveiling of the next-gen Roadster in 2017, Musk discussed adding cold-air thrusters to the supercar to deliver unprecedented racing performance and possibly even allow it to hover over the ground.
The CEO referenced demonstrating that the “Roadster can fly” on several occasions in the last few years.
Electrek’s Take
It looks like we are talking about the Roadster possibly coming to market in 2027—maybe late 2026 at the earliest.
That’s roughly 10 years after it was unveiled.
I’ll believe it when I see it. And if it does happen, I might have one or two flying Roasters for sale.
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Just like it says on the tine: TV brand SHARP is following Sony into the automotive space with the new LDK+ concept that transforms into a mobile movie theater. It’s a type of concept we’ve seen before – but not like this!
The SHARP LDK+ promises to be a Living room, a Dining room, and a Kitchen on wheels – and more (the plus, obviously), building off the decidedly more blobular™ concept first shown back in 2024. This updated version, however, takes the LDK concept and brings it significantly closer to reality by basing it on Foxconn’s “Model A EV by Hon Hai Technology Group” chassis.
And, now that it’s a little bit closer to some kind of reality, it might be time to climb on the SHARP hype train and take a minute to genuinely enjoy the movie/gaming environment the company is promising to deliver with the LDK+ concept.
Get hyped, kids
Not to be overly crude here, but if you roll in a van with a sliding projector table, opaque windows, and fully reclining seats, you probably hit the “family planning” section of your local Walgreens on a regular basis. Similarly, as more and more young people find themselves struggling to afford their own space, offering a vehicle that delivers a little privacy. And even if that’s more Netflix than chill, I think it’s bound to find a few buyers.
Whether I’m right or wrong about that will remain to be seen for a while, however. The official press release is light on specs, offering the following description of the LDK+ concept …
The second iteration of “LDK+” retains the original concept while featuring both high maneuverability with its compact body and a spacious, relaxing interior. Developed based on the“Model A” EV by Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn), this compact minivan model offers an expansive cabin layout.
When parked, the vehicle can be used as a theater room or a remote workspace. A console box equipped with a table and projector is placed between the driver’s and passenger’s seats. By swiveling the driver’s seat to face backward, it creates a living room-like atmosphere where you can sit around with the rear seats. Pulling down the screen installed above the rear seats allows you to enjoy movies or conduct online meetings on a large display. Through Sharp’s AIoT platform, which connects AI and home appliances, the vehicle links with household devices such as kitchen appliances, air conditioning, and laundry systems. The AI learns residents’ lifestyles and preferences, creating personalized new ways of living. In addition, the system can connect with V2H (Vehicle to Home) solutions, enabling efficient energy management by integrating solar power generation and residential storage batteries.
SHARP
… but skipping automotive basics like battery capacity, anticipated driving range, and the usual horsepower and torque figures. Pricing and, perhaps most importantly, when the vehicle might see the light of day weren’t revealed, either.
SHARP LDK+ concept
All of which is to say: they’re probably never going to actually build something like this – and that’s too bad, because a new-age Honda Element/Nissan Cube-style boxy little EV would absolutely sell like hotcakes.
SOURCE | IMAGES: SHARP, The Japan News.
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