Activist Investor Claims Riot Platform Could Unlock $21B Through AI/HPC Transition
According to Starboard Value, Riot must act with urgency to finalize "more material deals" in the artificial intelligence and high-performance computing sectors as "time is of the essence."
A shareholder activist at Riot Platform is urging the cryptocurrency mining firm to expedite its transition toward artificial intelligence and high-performance computing (HPC) operations.
Starboard Value, controlling approximately 12.7 million shares in Riot, communicated to company leadership on Wednesday that the organization has the potential to create equity value ranging from $9 billion to $21 billion through AI/HPC data center operations located in Texas. The investor emphasized that "time is of the essence," highlighting the critical need to finalize "more material deals" while advancing further into the AI and HPC space.
"With 1.4 [gigawatts] of gross capacity remaining to be monetized, Riot is in an enviable position – but it must execute with excellence and urgency. We believe Riot should be able to attract high-quality tenants for tier-3 data centers with terms similar to or better than the peer transactions announced towards the end of 2025."
Starboard Value
The activist investor highlighted Riot's main operational facilities located in Corsicana and Rockdale, Texas, areas where multiple cryptocurrency mining operations have established themselves thanks to affordable electricity rates and regulatory environments favorable to the industry.
During Wednesday's opening session on the Nasdaq exchange, Riot experienced a surge in its stock price, climbing nearly 6% as of the time of publication. By contrast, the CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF, an industry performance tracker, declined by less than 1%.
"The recently announced transaction with Advanced Micro Devices […] is a positive signal and confirms our views regarding the intrinsic value of Riot's key sites, but it is a small proof of concept deal, and we, like you, expect significantly more."
Starboard Value, referring to a data center lease and services agreement announced in January
Many mining companies pivoting away from crypto
Riot Platforms isn't alone among cryptocurrency enterprises redirecting portions of their business operations toward AI and HPC in response to rising mining difficulty levels and escalating operational expenses. CleanSpark, MARA Holdings, Core Scientific, Hut 8, and TeraWulf have either converted portions of their existing infrastructure or revealed comparable strategic plans as part of their pivot toward artificial intelligence.
Cango, another Bitcoin mining operation, liquidated $305 million worth of its BTC reserves last week, citing the need to finance its forthcoming expansion into the AI and HPC sectors as a partial motivation.