According to Bloomberg, IREN went from near collapse to signing a massive $9.7 billion deal with Microsoft.
The company was founded by Daniel and Will Roberts. They are former bankers at Macquarie Group, which went public in November 2021 at the peak of the pandemic-induced crypto rush.
When the Bitcoin market crashed the following year, the company's stock dropped 96%, leaving the brothers with almost nothing as the stock price sank to rock bottom.
Eighteen months ago, Daniel and Will changed direction. They stopped relying on Bitcoin mining and reoriented their business to meet the demands of AI computing and data centers.
That decision changed everything. IREN's stock price, originally called Iris Energy, has risen more than 500% this year. Daniel, 41, and Will, 35, are the first additions to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a combined net worth of $846 million.
Microsoft signs long-term capacity agreement
The deal with Microsoft will last for five years and will make the tech giant IREN's largest customer. The deal gives Microsoft access to 10% of the company's total computing power.
This means that most of IREN's platform is still available, allowing you to secure more contracts and generate more revenue. The company has data centers in Canada and the United States that are powered by renewable energy.
Daniel said of the deal completion: “It's been a great weekend so it's great to get it done. But the reality is that we're back in the office and we still have a big job to do.”
IREN currently operates in the same space as other AI computing providers such as CoreWeave, Nebius Group, and Crusoe. All of these companies were once focused on mining Bitcoin, but have since shifted to meeting the demand for computing power from AI companies, including OpenAI.
Professor He Guojun of the University of Hong Kong said the agreement marks a turning point for the company's identity. He said the brothers are now seen as builders of AI infrastructure rather than founders of cryptocurrency ventures.
From Bitcoin mining to AI computing infrastructure
For Daniel, the transition from Bitcoin to AI was no accident. He explained that both require vast amounts of physical data center space and reliable power. He said the transition follows the same logic that started mining in the first place.
Daniel said that in early investor meetings, he talked about movies like “The Matrix,'' “Ready Player One,'' and “Shrek-It Ralph'' to illustrate how everyday life is moving into a digital environment.
The message was that the world needs more computing, and the demand will not abate.
The brothers grew up in Sydney and studied business at the University of Technology Sydney before working for the Macquarie Group. Will served as vice president of products and markets and helped create the bank's cryptocurrency team.
Daniel became Executive Director of Palisade Investment Partners, working with infrastructure funds. Daniel first became interested in Bitcoin around 2013, and the company's website says he “bought high and sold low.”
That experience, combined with the brothers' background in fundraising and infrastructure construction, led them to launch the company in 2018.
“Bitcoin has been a great way to monetize computing and data center platforms,” Daniel says. “We've been doing that for years, and as we always say, as soon as a higher-value use case came along, we replaced it.”
Now, IREN is part of the growing AI computing race. The brothers' strategy is currently focused on securing long-term customers and expanding their infrastructure platform. IREN remains in a position to negotiate additional contracts. Microsoft remains the biggest buyer for now.
Meanwhile, the company's operations are based in Canada and the United States and continuously use renewable energy to power all of its facilities. The reimagined business retains the structure that started with mining, but applies it to AI.
Daniel and Will share management of IREN and continue to review decisions together. Daniel said, “We challenge each other, we analyze things thoroughly, and we're not afraid to say we're wrong if we're wrong. Let's change what we're doing.”
