Bitcoin Miner CleanSpark Continues Expansion into AI, HPC with Acquisition

Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark reached an agreement to buy land in Texas as part of a strategy to move deeper into AI and high-performance computing (HPC).

In a Wednesday announcement, CleanSpark said it had entered a definitive agreement to buy 447 acres of land in Brazoria County, Texas as part of plans to develop a 300 megawatt (MW) data center, which could potentially be expanded to 600 MW. Combined with another initiative in the area, the data centers are “designed for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads.”

”The demand for scaled, AI-native compute continues to accelerate, and access to transmission-level power in strategically advantageous regions has become increasingly constrained,” said CleanSpark chairman and CEO Matt Schultz.

CleanSpark’s continued expansion into AI and HPC was the latest example of a Bitcoin miner diversifying from crypto amid increasing mining difficulty. Companies including MARA Holdings, Core Scientific, Hut 8, Riot Platforms, and TeraWulf have already repurposed some of their infrastructure or announced plans to move deeper into AI and HPC.

Other mining companies have explored greener ways to cut costs. For example, Canadian Bitcoin miner Canaan announced last week that it would participate in a proof-of-concept program to make its compute heat available for local greenhouses.

Related: Bitcoin mining’s 2026 reckoning: AI pivots, margin pressure and a fight to survive

CleanSpark said the Texas deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026.

Bitcoin mining difficulty reached all-time highs in 2025

CleanSpark’s and other crypto miners’ moves closer to AI and HPC came amid rising costs for mining Bitcoin (BTC). According to data from CoinWarz, BTC difficulty peaked at about 156 trillion in November, and was 146 trillion at the time of publication.