With the AI boom in full swing, mining companies—and related players—are shifting gears, pouring capital into building out data centers and loading up on debt. They've already taken on about $35 billion in net debt, with nearly $30 billion funneled straight into AI infrastructure projects. The game plan is clear: fill those new racks with AI workloads as demand for compute keeps climbing.

All-In on Data Centers

The pivot from classic crypto mining to data center builds is happening at breakneck speed. Cash is flowing into facilities and hardware designed for AI tasks, as companies race to catch the next big wave in compute demand.

The Risk: What If AI Demand Slows?

There’s chatter in the AI world about a possible slowdown in tech progress. If that happens—and demand for compute doesn’t keep up—the companies betting big could be left holding the bag. No matter how full (or empty) their data centers are, those debt payments aren’t going anywhere.