IREN spends US$25 billion to US$30 billion to expand AI computing power, Bernstein: Investors are scared

On the one hand, there is construction expenditure of 25 billion to 30 billion US dollars, and on the other hand, the market is silent in response - this gap is exactly the problem pointed out by Bernstein's analysis report this time. IREN originally started out as a cryptocurrency mining company. Now it is betting on the expansion of AI computing power and has invested so much money that Bernstein used the word "spooked" to describe the reaction of some investors.

But looking at the contract figures currently on hand at IREN, the story is not just about the expenditure side. According to public information, IREN has locked in US$4 billion in annualized recurring revenue (ARR) for the 2026 capacity cloud contract. Converted into unit benefits, the company's recent deals can bring in annual revenue of more than US$20 million per IT megawatt.

This set of figures is not small in the AI computing power rental market, especially for a company that was born in Bitcoin mining and has only turned to AI cloud services in recent years. It has already established a certain scale of revenue visibility. What Bernstein's observation points out is actually the issue of how the capital market weighs "huge investments" and "locked returns" - on the one hand, the astronomical expenditures that are spread out in front of you, and on the other hand, the ability to fulfill the contract that has yet to be verified by time.

The current public materials do not provide the specific timetable and funding source details of IREN's US$25 billion to US$30 billion construction project, and relevant progress is still subject to subsequent announcements.