Anthropic May Pay Riot 12% Interest on $28B AI Campus Deal

Riot Platforms has signed a 15-year agreement with Anthropic covering 910 megawatts of data center capacity at its Corsicana campus in Texas. The Riot Anthropic deal is valued at $28 billion. The first capacity is expected in June 2027, with later phases running through July 2028, according to CoinDesk.

Riot supplies the land and electrical infrastructure. Anthropic, the developer of Claude, installs and runs the computing equipment. For Riot, the agreement turns part of its Texas power capacity from Bitcoin mining into a long-term rent stream — and loads the company with billions of dollars in construction funding to arrange.

📎Riot’s $28 Billion Anthropic Deal Covers 910 MW at Corsicana
🎯Riot and Anthropic Take Separate Roles in the AI Campus
📌Riot Has Sold Bitcoin to Finance Its Data Center Shift
🟣Why the Riot Anthropic Deal Matters to Bitcoin Miners
👎The $28 Billion Headline Is Not Riot’s Construction Budget
🟢Anthropic’s 12% Interest Could Reduce Riot’s Rent
👎Riot’s Financing and Construction Schedule Carry Execution Risk
📌Riot’s 2027 Financing Process Comes Before Full Delivery
❓FAQ

Riot’s $28 Billion Anthropic Deal Covers 910 MW at Corsicana

What the agreement includes

The project centers on 910 MW of planned capacity at the Corsicana campus. Riot owns the site and electrical infrastructure; Anthropic owns its computing equipment and operations. Work is split between them, so Riot is not building the whole AI operation on its own.

Once the full project is running, Riot expects average annual rent of about $1.8 billion over the initial 15-year term. That is a rental expectation, not a net income forecast. The agreement permits deductions for eligible Anthropic facility costs, and those reimbursements carry interest.

How the rollout is scheduled

Capacity arrives in phases through July 2028. Riot expects the first phase online in June 2027, which is when it says rent can start. Receipts follow construction and delivery milestones instead of all 910 MW switching on at once.

That leaves a stretch between signing and the first rental revenue. Riot’s site and electrical work has to be finished alongside Anthropic’s facility installation, and reimbursement for eligible Anthropic costs comes due after each phase is delivered and starts earning rent.

Riot and Anthropic Take Separate Roles in the AI Campus

Riot supplies the site and power infrastructure

Riot is a Bitcoin miner that has been putting its Texas properties and electrical infrastructure to work in data center development. At Corsicana, the company’s job is supplying the land and infrastructure for the campus. The agreement pushes Riot’s business past mining without shutting mining down.

This is a heavy infrastructure commitment. Riot estimates its own site and electrical work at about $1.8 billion — part of the roughly $5.5 billion total development estimate, not a sum stacked on top of it.

Anthropic operates the computing equipment

Anthropic will install and run the computing equipment at the campus. The maker of Claude gets a phased route to bring data center capacity online while Riot handles the site and the power.

Anthropic also carries a financing role in the build. Riot’s quarterly filing describes reimbursements for eligible Anthropic facility costs, recovered through deductions from future rent. Those reimbursements are tied to eligible costs and phase delivery — not to an upfront payment of the project’s full headline value.

Riot Has Sold Bitcoin to Finance Its Data Center Shift

Sales funded development and debt repayment

Riot sold 20,264 BTC▲$80,310.00 during the first nine months of 2026 for about $1.5 billion. The proceeds went mainly to data center development and repayment of a $200 million Coinbase loan, according to the company’s figures cited by CoinDesk.

At the end of September, Riot held 2,418 BTC. It expects to keep selling substantially all newly mined Bitcoin, which makes its treasury a funding source for infrastructure rather than a reserve it says it intends to keep intact.

Riot says it does not currently plan a share sale

Riot says it does not currently expect to issue new shares to finance its announced projects. That position sits alongside a construction plan it estimates at about $5.5 billion and a financing process it expects to begin in 2027.

Stated plans are not guarantees that the funding mix stays put. The financing illustration leans on lenders covering most project costs; how much debt Riot can secure, and on what terms, will help decide whether it can avoid raising equity while meeting construction obligations.

Why the Riot Anthropic Deal Matters to Bitcoin Miners

Mining infrastructure can support a second business

Corsicana shows one route for a mining company to put land and electrical infrastructure into a different business: Riot supplies the site and power-related work, a technology company brings and operates the computing equipment. The planned 910 MW campus is a major expansion into AI data center infrastructure for Riot.

It is not a new revenue line without trade-offs. Riot is selling Bitcoin to fund development, expects to keep selling newly mined coins, and must arrange financing for a large construction program before the first phase is due to earn rent.

Long-term rent is weighed against build costs

Riot expects about $1.8 billion in average annual rent once all capacity is operational over the initial 15-year term. That gives the project a long horizon, while the expected $5.5 billion in construction and development costs fall earlier in the build schedule.

What Riot ultimately keeps will depend in part on how much eligible Anthropic facility cost is reimbursed through rent deductions and the interest attached. The headline agreement value, the expected rent and the construction estimate describe different parts of the project — not interchangeable measures of cash received or profit.

The $28 Billion Headline Is Not Riot’s Construction Budget

Riot estimates about $5.5 billion in project costs

Riot’s earnings presentation puts total project costs at roughly $5.5 billion. About $1.8 billion goes to Riot’s site and electrical work, with up to $3.6 billion allocated to reimbursing Anthropic for its data center facilities. Actual eligible costs determine the reimbursement amount.

Those figures cover development and facility costs — not the same thing as the $28 billion agreement value. The latter is tied to a 15-year arrangement; the cost estimate describes what Riot expects to spend to build and develop the project. Reading the headline value as immediate cash, revenue already earned or construction spending misstates the deal.

Financing assumptions leave Riot with a cash contribution

Riot’s financing illustration assumes lenders cover 80% to 90% of project costs. On that basis, Riot estimates it would need to contribute roughly $500 million to $1.1 billion in cash. The company plans to launch the financing process in 2027; the illustration is not confirmation that the debt has been arranged.

The projected range also shows why final borrowing terms matter. A lower lender contribution would raise the cash Riot must supply, while debt pricing and repayment obligations would affect project economics. Riot has not provided a target interest rate for the project debt, CoinDesk reported.

Anthropic’s 12% Interest Could Reduce Riot’s Rent

Interest applies to eligible reimbursements

Riot’s quarterly filing says Anthropic can recover eligible module costs by deducting them from future rent, with interest accruing at 12% per year. The rate applies to those eligible reimbursed costs. It is not interest on the full $28 billion agreement value, and not interest on all of Riot’s project financing.

Reimbursements come due after a phase is delivered and starts earning rent. Their size depends on eligible facility costs, so the deductions and interest track the amounts and timing of delivered phases. That structure ties Anthropic’s cost recovery to the campus rollout.

Net rent depends on deductions and financing terms

Riot has not stated how much rent it expects to retain after Anthropic’s deductions, whether it can repay reimbursements early, or what interest rate it is targeting for project debt. Those details matter: the expected $1.8 billion annual rent is a gross rental expectation, not a disclosed net figure after reimbursement deductions and financing costs.

The 80% to 90% lender-financing assumption is another major variable. Until the financing process begins and terms are set, Riot’s estimated cash contribution remains an illustration. Construction costs, eligible Anthropic reimbursements, debt costs and phase timing will all shape how much of the expected rent reaches Riot after obligations.

Riot’s Financing and Construction Schedule Carry Execution Risk

Debt availability and project costs are central risks

The plan depends on Riot arranging substantial financing for a project it estimates will cost roughly $5.5 billion. Its illustration assumes lenders provide 80% to 90% of that amount, but real terms will only emerge through the process Riot expects to launch in 2027. If the financing differs from the illustration, Riot’s cash needs could differ too.

Construction and delivery timing matter as well. Reimbursements for eligible Anthropic facility costs fall due after a phase is delivered and begins earning rent, and the company expects the first capacity only in June 2027, with later phases through July 2028. Delays or changes to eligible costs could shift when expenses and rental receipts occur.

Bitcoin sales and dilution are part of the funding picture

Riot has already sold most of its Bitcoin holdings described in the report: after selling 20,264 BTC for about $1.5 billion in the first nine months of 2026, it held 2,418 BTC at September’s end. It expects to keep selling substantially all newly mined coins, which links the expansion plan to continued conversion of mining output into funding.

For now, Riot says it does not expect to issue new shares for its announced projects. But the project’s cost and financing assumptions leave the eventual funding mix important to shareholders. Treat the stated expectation as the company’s current position, not a commitment that equity financing will never be used.

Riot’s 2027 Financing Process Comes Before Full Delivery

The first rent is tied to the June 2027 phase

Riot expects the first Corsicana capacity to arrive in June 2027 and begin generating rent. That initial phase is an early test of the construction schedule and of the arrangement under which Anthropic installs and operates the computing equipment at Riot’s site.

Later phases are scheduled through July 2028, so the full 910 MW is not expected at the outset. Riot’s forecast of about $1.8 billion in average annual rent applies once everything is running; it should not be read as rent starting at that full level with the first phase.

Financing terms will clarify the project’s economics

Riot plans to launch financing in 2027. The terms will show how much lenders are prepared to provide and what borrowing costs the company must carry against the project. Those terms will sit alongside Anthropic’s eligible-cost reimbursements and 12% annual interest on those costs.

As phases arrive, the key milestones are the timing of delivery, when each phase starts earning rent, and the amount of eligible costs deducted from future payments. Those details will determine how the $28 billion agreement translates into cash flows for Riot over the initial 15-year term.

FAQ

What is the term of the Riot-Anthropic agreement?

The initial term is 15 years. Riot’s expected average annual rent of about $1.8 billion applies once the full campus is running, with reimbursement deductions potentially reducing the amount it retains.

What will Anthropic do at the Corsicana campus?

Anthropic will install and operate the computing equipment. Riot will provide the land and electrical infrastructure for the 910 MW project.

Why are Riot’s Bitcoin holdings part of this story?

Riot sold 20,264 BTC for about $1.5 billion in the first nine months of 2026, primarily to fund data center development and repay a Coinbase loan. It held 2,418 BTC at the end of September and expects to keep selling substantially all newly mined Bitcoin.

Does the 12% interest apply to the whole deal?

No. The filing describes 12% annual interest on eligible Anthropic module-cost reimbursements recovered through future rent deductions, not on the full agreement value.

How much of the project might Riot fund with cash?

Riot’s financing illustration estimates a cash contribution of roughly $500 million to $1.1 billion if lenders cover 80% to 90% of project costs. Riot expects its financing process to start in 2027.

What is the latest phase in the rollout schedule?

Additional capacity is scheduled to arrive in phases through July 2028. The first capacity is expected in June 2027, when Riot says rental revenue can begin.

This article is for information only and is not financial advice.