Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings is making its biggest AI play to date, signing a $168 million deal to buy a 64% stake in Exaion, a subsidiary of French state-owned Électricité de France, one of the world’s largest low-carbon energy producers.

The agreement, announced on Tuesday, includes an option for MARA to raise its stake to 75% by 2027 with an additional $127 million investment, contingent on performance milestones.

Exaion works with Nvidia

Exaion develops high-performance computing (HPC) data centers and provides AI and cloud infrastructure in partnership with the likes of AI heavyweight Nvidia and Big Four accounting firm Deloitte.

The agreement now positions Exaion to transition to larger-scale international deployment to serve enterprise and public-sector clients, MARA said.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to necessary approvals.

MARA’s CEO and chairman Fred Thiel added: “As data protection and energy efficiency become top priorities for both governments and enterprises, MARA and Exaion’s combined expertise would enable us to deliver secure and scalable cloud solutions built for the future of AI.”

AI expansion comes as BTC mining difficulty surges

MARA’s expansion in AI comes amid a steep rise in Bitcoin (BTC) mining difficulty, driving up energy consumption and putting pressure on miner profitability margins unless they adapt with more efficient equipment or lower energy costs.

MARA is the largest Bitcoin miner by Bitcoin production, network hash rate, and market cap, but has been one of the last players in the industry to make a significant push into AI.

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In additional comments on Monday via X Spaces, Thiel noted that MARA “deliberately chose not to be in the first wave” of expanding into AI and HPC data center businesses like other Bitcoin miners.

“Rather than trying to retrofit mining facilities, we’re investing in a partner who already has the expertise, has the customer base and has the track record in the space,” the MARA boss said, while adding that “it allows us to move quickly, intelligently and credibly.”

MARA’s new BTC production competitor

In July, MARA mined 703 Bitcoin — a rare loss to competitor firm IREN, which posted a company record 728 Bitcoin in the same month. MARA’s drop in production was likely driven by fewer machines being active for Bitcoin mining.

However, MARA saw its revenue rise 64% year-on-year to $238 million in the second quarter, while it still holds 50,000 Bitcoin worth nearly $6 billion, making it the second-largest Bitcoin treasury after Michael Saylor’s Strategy.

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