MARA stock surged 18% in early trading on Thursday following the announcement of a $600 million milestone-based deal to build a 2 GW AI and Bitcoin mining campus in Matagorda County, Texas. The market response reflects investor confidence in MARA's strategic pivot from pure-play Bitcoin miner to energy-backed digital infrastructure company. The deal represents a significant shift in the company's business model, moving beyond traditional Bitcoin mining toward diversified revenue streams through AI computing and high-performance computing operations. According to Yahoo Finance data, MARA shares climbed to $13.77 following the announcement, leaving the stock up more than 14.6% on the day and over 53% year to date despite continued weakness across much of the crypto mining sector.
MARA's Volt Texas subsidiary has acquired a 1,200-acre powered land site in Texas from HIF Global, providing access to up to 2 GW of planned grid capacity. The site is expected to provide access to an initial 1 gigawatt of grid capacity by October 2027, with total available capacity projected to reach 2 gigawatts by April 2028. The deal with fuel developer HIF Global provides MARA with a fully permitted site with grid rights for up to 2,000 megawatts, transforming the land into flexible power infrastructure for both artificial intelligence and Bitcoin mining operations. Under the agreement, seller HIF Global will retain a minority ownership stake after MARA secures a high-performance computing tenant, ensuring continued partnership alignment and reducing upfront risk for the company.
The buildout is structured in phases with aggressive timelines. The first gigawatt is targeted to be operational by October 2027, with the second gigawatt slated for April 2028. Construction is expected to begin in phases later this year, subject to regulatory approvals coming through. The transaction will be paid in milestone-based installments, with a total maximum value of $600 million, and is not a lump-sum payment. Payment triggers include completion of land acquisition, power interconnection, and execution of subsequent data center lease agreements, reducing upfront risk but increasing execution sensitivity to land, interconnection, and lease contracting timelines.
MARA is partnering with Starwood Digital Ventures to develop and operate AI and HPC assets across selected sites, with the site's flexible design allowing MARA to optimize operations based on market conditions. The location has already generated interest from potential high-performance computing tenants, demonstrating strong market demand for the facility. At the full 2 gigawatt capacity, the $600 million investment works out to approximately $300,000 per megawatt of grid access. The partnership structure, revenue sharing terms, and customer relationship controls remain key variables for how much AI revenue ultimately flows to MARA shareholders. The site's design supports large-scale digital infrastructure alongside existing Bitcoin mining operations, creating a comprehensive computing ecosystem.
MARA also expects to close a $1.5 billion deal for the 505 megawatt Long Ridge gas plant in Ohio, which would expand the company's potential capacity to approximately 4.8 gigawatts. The acquisition comes as grid power demand in Texas has increased by nearly 300% over the past year, with data centers driving most connection requests according to ERCOT. The company has been accumulating Texas assets for a while now, including wind farms and data centers, building a vertically integrated energy and compute stack. If the site reaches full energization at 2 gigawatts, it would lift MARA's power portfolio to about 4.8 gigawatts and could support thousands of permanent jobs in the region. The trend extends beyond infrastructure operators into corporate Bitcoin treasury strategies, with companies across the sector pursuing different approaches to strengthen their positions as institutional interest in digital assets and AI computing continues to grow.
