MARA Holdings Partners With Starwood to Transform Bitcoin Mining Sites Into AI Data Centers

Bitcoin Miner MARA, Starwood Partner to Develop AI Data Centers

MARA Holdings Inc. is partnering with Barry Sternlicht's Starwood Capital Group to develop some of the Bitcoin miner's existing sites into infrastructure that can support artificial intelligence applications and some other cloud services. Starwood Digital Ventures, the data center development platform for the private investment firm, will lead design, tenant sourcing, construction, and facility operations, while MARA contributes some of its sites. They are expected to deliver about one-gigawatt immediate capacity with a possibility of building up to 2.5 gigawatt, the crypto-mining company said in a statement on Thursday. Financial terms weren't disclosed. The companies will have joint ownership of all the related projects, prioritizing sites with access to more cost-efficient energy sources and facilities that are scalable with interconnection positions, according to MARA's presentation. "We look at many of these miners to see which was actionable. It's how fast we can get these projects up and running and where they are located. We are very excited about this joint venture with MARA," Sternlicht said in an interview on Thursday. "Our name is well-known and trusted both in the debt and equity markets, that'll help execute MARA's ambitions." The miner will have the option to retain up to 50% ownership in the joint venture in which the two companies will share the development costs and profit, MARA CEO Fred Thiel said. Bitcoin miners have grown to be a significant cohort among major AI data center providers as some of them have access to cheap and readily available energy sources and sites that can be converted into higher tier data centers for AI applications, shortening the lead time compared with building from scratch. Get the Bloomberg Crypto newsletter. Get the Bloomberg Crypto newsletter. Get the Bloomberg Crypto newsletter. The essential read on the crypto universe delivered straight to your inbox twice a week. The essential read on the crypto universe delivered straight to your inbox twice a week. The essential read on the crypto universe delivered straight to your inbox twice a week. Bloomberg may send me offers and promotions. Plus Signed UpPlus Sign UpPlus Sign Up By submitting my information, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. While MARA unveiled its plan to develop infrastructure for AI inference services last year, stock-market investors have rewarded the Bitcoin miners that have wholeheartedly jumped in the AI pivot. IREN Ltd., TeraWulf Inc. and Cipher Mining Inc. saw a surge in their share prices over the last year. The market value of those firms has leapfrogged that of MARA despite the fact that the company churns out more computing power to mine Bitcoin than just about any of its US-listed peers. Other large-scale miners are also facing rising pressure from their shareholders to speed up the transition to be an AI data center infrastructure provider. Activist investor Starboard has built a large position in Riot Platforms and pushed the miner to make more efforts in developing its AI projects. Riot has one of the world's largest sites in Texas and access to large amounts energy. The plunge in digital assets has also accelerated the industrywide shift as more miners start to liquidate their Bitcoin holdings and use some of the proceeds to cover expenses or fund AI expansions. Bitcoin mining is an energy-intensive process in which miners raise tens of billions of dollars to build data centers, secure energy and purchase specialized computers to process transactions on the blockchain. In return, they earn a reward in the form of the token if they are the first to successfully validate one block of the data.

MARA Shares Rise After Bitcoin Miner Strikes AI Data Center Deal - Decrypt

Analysts say MARA remains a Bitcoin proxy until leases are signed. MARA Holdings, one of the largest publicly traded Bitcoin miners in the U.S., said Thursday it will team up with Starwood Property Trust to develop AI-focused data centers, sending its shares higher in after-hours trading. Under the agreement, MARA will work with Starwood to convert a portfolio of its U.S. Bitcoin mining sites, excluding those already held in third-party joint ventures, into hyperscale data center campuses, with projects structured on a site-by-site basis. The partnership will allow the two to turn select Bitcoin mining sites into large-scale data centers that could also serve enterprise and AI workloads, transforming "power certainty into capacity certainty," Fred Thiel, chairman and CEO of MARA, said in a statement. MARA closed at $8.45 on Thursday, down 1.4% in the U.S trading session, before inching higher to $9.62 in after-hours, a gain of about 13.9%, according to Google Finance data. Shares reached as high as $9.9 in extended trading, up roughly 16% from the regular-session's close. MARA said the partnership targets sites with low-cost power and strong grid access, positioning them to support both Bitcoin mining and AI workloads. By pairing its energy-heavy infrastructure with Starwood's development and operating capabilities, the company aims to scale the campuses into digital infrastructure that can shift compute between mining and AI, depending on pricing and demand. The move is "strategically meaningful because it moves MARA from a "hashrate and Bitcoin price beta" toward "power-to-compute monetization," Ram Kumar, core contributor at AI and blockchain infrastructure firm OpenLedger, told Decrypt. "That said, until there are signed hyperscale/enterprise leases with disclosed economics, MARA will still trade primarily as a Bitcoin price proxy, because mining remains the cleanest, most observable driver of near-term cash flows, while data center conversion is execution-heavy and timeline-dependent," Kumar said. The move could meaningfully shift MARA's long-term earnings profile, but it remains dependent on future AI expenditure curves, Siwon Huh, researcher at crypto analytics firm Four Pillars, told Decrypt. "The lack of immediate AI revenue suggests that the short-term impact will be limited," he said, noting that, unlike Core Scientific, which secured AI contracts last year, or TeraWulf, which has signed long-term hosting deals, MARA is still at the partnership stage and has not announced confirmed AI tenants. MARA can elect to hold between 10% and 50% equity in each joint venture, while Starwood will act as managing member and lead development, tenant sourcing, and financing efforts. "Without signed tenant agreements, it is premature to discuss a fundamental shift in their earnings profile," Huh said. One decisive catalyst that could come into play would be "a binding, long-term lease agreement with a hyperscale-tier tenant," he added. For MARA to generate meaningful AI revenue, its strategies for GPU procurement and power allocation need to be finalized. "Clear guidance on the power distribution ratio between Bitcoin mining and AI compute is essential for investors to accurately model the demand for both segments," Huh said.

MARA Posts $1.7B Q4 Loss as Bitcoin Slump Hits Earnings

MARA reported a $1.71 billion quarterly loss as Bitcoin fair‑value markdowns hit earnings, and the company laid out a major push into AI and high‑performance compute. MARA Holdings (MARA) reported a fourth quarter 2025 net loss of $1.71 billion, or $4.52 per diluted share, compared with net income of $528.3 million, or $1.24 per diluted share, in the same period a year earlier. Its shareholder letter filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said revenue in Q4 fell 6% to $202.3 million from $214.4 million in Q4 of 2024, as a lower average Bitcoin (BTC) price outweighed the impact of a higher hashrate. For the full year 2025, Marathon booked a net loss of $1.31 billion, compared with net income of $541 million in 2024, even though its revenue rose to $907.1 million from $656.4 million a year earlier. The company said that its Q4 net income was hit by a $1.50 billion negative change in the fair value of digital assets and digital assets receivable, reflecting the decline in Bitcoin's price from around $114,300 on Sept. 30 to roughly $88,800 on Dec. 31, according to data from CoinGecko. The company's share price also took a beating, with MARA stock down 46% in the past six months. On the production side, Marathon said that it mined 2,011 BTC in Q4 2025, down 6% from 2,144 BTC in the prior quarter and 2,492 BTC in the year-earlier period, and 8,799 BTC for the full year, compared with 9,430 BTC in 2024. Related: Bitdeer sells all Bitcoin, Metaplanet rejects misconduct claims: Asia Express The company said that it ended 2025 holding 53,822 BTC, including 15,315 BTC loaned or pledged as collateral, with its balance sheet BTC valued at about $4.7 billion at a quarter‑end spot price of $87,498 per coin. Alongside the numbers, Marathon used its Q4 shareholder letter to outline a multi‑year shift "from a pure‑play Bitcoin miner into an energy and digital infrastructure company," announcing a strategic joint venture with Starwood Digital Ventures to develop artificial intelligence (AI) and high‑performance compute (HPC) data centers at its power‑rich sites. Marathon said that the Starwood partnership was designed to support more than 1 gigawatt of IT capacity in its initial phase, with a roadmap that could extend above 2.5 gigawatts over time, and giving Marathon the option to invest up to 50% in individual projects while continuing to mine where power remains attractive. The company also highlighted its acquisition of a 64% stake in Exaion in February to target "sovereign‑grade" and enterprise AI deployments. Marathon's hybrid approach comes as other major miners continue to experiment with different playbooks in response to the latest Bitcoin drawdown. Hut 8 reported a fourth‑quarter net loss of $279.7 million on Wednesday, as it leans into a $7 billion AI data center lease, while Trump‑backed American Bitcoin reported a $59.5 million Q4 2025 loss on Thursday, yet continues to double down on its mine-and-hoard BTC model.

Fred Thiel Says MARA Holdings Will Leverage Bitcoin Holdings For 'Financial Flexibility' As Firm Pivots Beyond Pure-Play Mining - MARA Holdings (NASDAQ:MARA)

MARA Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:MARA) CEO Fred Thiel said Thursday the company plans to adopt an opportunistic approach, leveraging Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) to enhance "financial flexibility" where appropriate. MARA Records Paper Losses On Bitcoin During MARA's fourth-quarter earnings call, Thiel admitted that recent volatility in Bitcoin price has affected the sector's sentiments and aspects of the company's trading performance. The company reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $1.7 billion, primarily due to a $1.5 billion hit from the fair value markdown on its Bitcoin holdings. The apex cryptocurrency tumbled 23% during the quarter. "Historically, we retained the majority of the Bitcoin we mined as a long-term strategic asset," the CEO said. "Looking ahead, we expect to continue taking an opportunistic approach using Bitcoin to enhance financial flexibility where appropriate." 'Mara No Longer Simply A Bitcoin Miner' These decisions, he added, would be guided by "market conditions and capital allocation priorities," with a focus on fortifying the balance sheet and boosting long-term shareholder value. "MARA is no longer simply a Bitcoin miner. We are already well down the path of building an energy-dominant digital infrastructure platform," Thiel said. MARA's Data Center Development Deal This strategic pivot comes alongside MARA's partnership with global investment firm Starwood Capital Group to convert and scale select sites into digital infrastructure for enterprise, hyperscale and AI customers. The companies said they expect to deliver approximately one gigawatt of near-term IT capacity with a pathway to more than 2.5 gigawatts. MARA mined 2,011 BTC and purchased an additional 1,670 as part of its treasury strategy during the quarter. Meanwhile, revenue and earnings figures fell short of analyst forecasts. Price Action: MARA shares surged 15.50% in pre-market trade on Friday after closing 1.40% lower at $8.45 during Thursday's regular trading session. Year-to-date, the stock has slid nearly 6%. Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings show the stock with a robust short-term price uptrend, but weaker performance in medium- and long-term periods. Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Memory Stockphoto on Shutterstock.com Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs To add Benzinga News as your preferred source on Google, click here.

Why Mara Stock Rallied Today | The Motley Fool

Shares of Mara Holdings (MARA +5.86%) rose on Friday after the digital energy technology provider struck a game-changing partnership with Starwood Capital Group. By the close of trading, Mara's stock price was up 5.8% after rising as much as 16.4% earlier in the day. Mara will work with Starwood Digital Ventures (SDV) to convert several of its cryptocurrency mining facilities into high-performance computing sites capable of running artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. Mara brings data centers with access to low-cost energy. SDV adds expertise in design, construction, tenant sourcing, and facility management. Notably, these sites will be capable of both mining Bitcoin and supporting AI computing operations. Mara will thus be able to better adapt to cryptocurrency price fluctuations and shifting demand trends for AI compute. The two companies believe these site conversions will help to bring AI infrastructure online faster than traditional new construction projects. Mara and Starwood are targeting 1 gigawatt of near-term capacity, with a longer-term path to over 2.5 gigawatts. "Mara's power-rich sites give customers what they need most: predictable access to energy at scale," Mara CEO Fred Thiel said in a press release. "Our partnership with Starwood will allow us to turn that power certainty into capacity certainty, so customers can run diverse workloads close to their data and users." The announcement came alongside Mara's fourth-quarter financial report. With the price of Bitcoin down sharply from its highs, Mara posted a net loss of $1.7 billion, or $4.52 per share.

MARA outlines 1GW near-term IT capacity target with Starwood JV while expanding AI and digital infrastructure strategy (NASDAQ:MARA)

Earnings Call Insights: MARA Holdings, Inc. (MARA) Q4 2025 Management View * Frederick Thiel, CEO & Executive Chairman, announced a strategic partnership with Starwood Digital Ventures, describing it as a joint venture that "accelerates MARA's expansion into AI and high-performance compute and represents a meaningful step forward This article was automatically generated by an AI tool based on content available on the Seeking Alpha website, and has not been curated or reviewed by humans. Due to inherent limitations in using AI-based tools, the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of such articles cannot be guaranteed. This article is intended for informational purposes only. Seeking Alpha does not take account of your objectives or your financial situation and does not offer any personalized investment advice. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. The Starwood joint venture accelerates MARA's expansion into AI and high-performance computing, advancing its transformation into a broader digital infrastructure company and allowing it to participate in future cash flows with up to 50% ownership of the JV assets. MARA reported a $1.5 billion net loss due to a decline in Bitcoin prices, considers Bitcoin volatility a significant headwind, and faces sizable debt maturities in 2027 that may impact its financial flexibility. MARA is prioritizing near-term, power-rich opportunities, opportunistically monetizing Bitcoin to enhance liquidity, focusing on disciplined capital investment into high-value projects, and leveraging flexible power usage between mining and computing workloads.

MARA stock jumps despite Q4 miss on expansion plans into AI, high-performance compute (MARA:NASDAQ)

MARA Holdings (MARA) stock was surging despite a Q4 miss as the bitcoin miner announced an accelerated expansion into AI and high-performance compute. Shares were +16.92% to $9.88 on Thursday during after-hours trading. The Hallandale Beach, Florida-based bitcoin miner reported Investors are reacting positively to MARA's announced accelerated expansion into AI and high-performance compute, and its strategic business transformation beyond bitcoin mining. The partnership enables MARA to convert and expand sites for next-generation digital infrastructure, targeting enterprise, hyperscale, and AI customers, potentially generating operating cash flow and increasing long-term value. MARA is shifting from pure-play bitcoin mining to becoming an energy and digital infrastructure company to capitalize on the growing demand from AI and enterprise clients.