Bitcoin Mining Giant MARA Ventures into AI with $168M Exaion Acquisition

Bitcoin miner MARA to acquire majority stake in Exaion in AI, HPC play

MARA Holding's expansion into AI and high-performance computing is expected to close in Q4, and comes amid a steep rise in Bitcoin mining difficulty. Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings is making its biggest AI play to date, signing a $168 million deal to buy a 64% stake in Exaion, a subsidiary of French state-owned Électricité de France, one of the world's largest low-carbon energy producers. The agreement, announced on Tuesday, includes an option for MARA to raise its stake to 75% by 2027 with an additional $127 million investment, contingent on performance milestones. Exaion develops high-performance computing (HPC) data centers and provides AI and cloud infrastructure in partnership with the likes of AI heavyweight Nvidia and Big Four accounting firm Deloitte. The agreement now positions Exaion to transition to larger-scale international deployment to serve enterprise and public-sector clients, MARA said. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to necessary approvals. MARA's CEO and chairman Fred Thiel added: "As data protection and energy efficiency become top priorities for both governments and enterprises, MARA and Exaion's combined expertise would enable us to deliver secure and scalable cloud solutions built for the future of AI." MARA's expansion in AI comes amid a steep rise in Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty, driving up energy consumption and putting pressure on miner profitability margins unless they adapt with more efficient equipment or lower energy costs. MARA is the largest Bitcoin miner by Bitcoin production, network hash rate, and market cap, but has been one of the last players in the industry to make a significant push into AI. Related: Michael Saylor is not sweating the rise of Ethereum treasury companies In additional comments on Monday via X Spaces, Thiel noted that MARA "deliberately chose not to be in the first wave" of expanding into AI and HPC data center businesses like other Bitcoin miners. "Rather than trying to retrofit mining facilities, we're investing in a partner who already has the expertise, has the customer base and has the track record in the space," the MARA boss said, while adding that "it allows us to move quickly, intelligently and credibly." In July, MARA mined 703 Bitcoin -- a rare loss to competitor firm IREN, which posted a company record 728 Bitcoin in the same month. MARA's drop in production was likely driven by fewer machines being active for Bitcoin mining. However, MARA saw its revenue rise 64% year-on-year to $238 million in the second quarter, while it still holds 50,000 Bitcoin worth nearly $6 billion, making it the second-largest Bitcoin treasury after Michael Saylor's Strategy.

Bitcoin Miner MARA Eyes AI Growth in $168M EDF Deal

MARA's AI focus targets cost-efficient inference services over full model training. MARA Holdings Inc. is nearing a $168 million deal to buy EDF's Exaion. The move signals a major push into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure beyond Bitcoin mining operations. MARA Targets AI Expansion With $168M Exaion Deal MARA Holdings Inc. is close to acquiring a controlling stake in Exaion from Electricité de France SA in a deal worth about $168 million. According to an SEC filing, the agreement would give MARA 64% ownership of Exaion through EDF Pulse Ventures, EDF's venture arm. The Bitcoin miner could later raise its stake to 75% for an additional $127 million if certain conditions are met. EDF would remain a minority shareholder in the French high-performance computing firm. MARA is seeking to expand beyond cryptocurrency operations into artificial intelligence infrastructure. Exaion deploys and manages data centers of high-performance computing, cloud services, and AI infrastructure. Its services help to establish sovereign data systems for companies to retain control over sensitive information and work on AI-based applications. The strategy by MARA is to focus on AI inference services. This is a part of AI data processing with less required investment compared to training the whole model. MARA's model is a contrast to the direction of other miners such as Core Scientific and Hut 8. These two firms supply infrastructure to hyperscale cloud providers. Bitcoin Miner Enters New Markets as Industry Demand Increases The AI industry has attracted some tens of billions of investments. Hence, it has become attractive to miners as they seek additional income sources amid growing competition in the mining sector. Bitcoin mining companies are using the availability of power and their experience in energy management to penetrate the AI market. In addition, increased pressure on AI computing resources is presenting new opportunities to infrastructure providers. MARA is also pursuing a Bitcoin treasury strategy, using equity and debt financing to acquire billions in Bitcoin while retaining all mined coins. The Bitcoin miner recently raised $950 million to buy more BTC. This approach aims to position MARA as a stock market proxy for Bitcoin, similar to Michael Saylor's Strategy. Shares of MARA rose 1.8% to $15.67 in New York trading session, giving it a market value of $5.8 billion. The company remains the largest Bitcoin miner. If the deal proceeds, it would mark one of MARA's most significant steps toward becoming a diversified infrastructure provider in both crypto and AI sectors.