Activist investor Starboard Value is pushing bitcoin miner Riot Platforms to move more aggressively into artificial intelligence data center partnerships, arguing the company is well positioned to benefit from surging demand for AI infrastructure.
In a letter addressed to Riot chief executive Jason Les and executive chairman Benjamin Yi, Starboard said the company should urgently capitalize on its significant power capacity in Texas to secure larger AI and high performance computing deals. Shares of Riot rose about 5 percent in premarket trading following news of the activist’s intervention.
The push highlights a broader strategic shift underway among cryptocurrency miners. As bitcoin mining revenues fluctuate with token prices and network difficulty, several miners are exploring ways to monetize their energy infrastructure by hosting AI and cloud computing workloads. The rapid expansion of AI applications has fueled demand for data centers with immediate access to large scale power.
Starboard, which owns approximately 12.7 million shares of Riot, noted that AI and high performance computing firms have increasingly turned to crypto miners as near term solutions for data center capacity. Riot’s facilities in Corsicana and Rockdale, Texas, together provide around 1.7 gigawatts of available power, according to the letter, making them attractive sites for AI tenants.
The activist investor argued that Riot’s stock has lagged peers that have already secured substantial AI hosting agreements. In a fast evolving AI infrastructure market, Starboard said, speed and execution will be critical to unlocking value.
Riot recently announced an agreement with Advanced Micro Devices, which Starboard described as a positive step but characterized as a relatively small proof of concept arrangement rather than a transformative partnership. The investor urged Riot to focus on attracting high quality, investment grade tenants, including hyperscale technology companies, rather than simply pursuing the highest short term lease rates.
Riot has taken steps in recent months to strengthen governance and operational expertise. The company appointed directors with data center experience and hired a chief data center officer to oversee the expansion into AI related hosting services. However, Starboard’s letter suggests that investors want faster progress and clearer milestones.
The convergence of crypto mining and AI infrastructure reflects changing economics in both sectors. Miners control substantial energy assets that can be repurposed for compute intensive workloads, while AI developers seek scalable, power ready sites to deploy advanced hardware.
Whether Riot can successfully pivot from a primarily bitcoin focused business model to a hybrid mining and AI data center operator may depend on its ability to secure long term contracts with major technology firms. For now, pressure from Starboard underscores investor belief that the AI opportunity could reshape the company’s growth trajectory.
