HIVE Digital Technologies' shares have risen following the announcement of a $220 million, three-year GPU cloud contract with Bell Canada and Cohere. This deal marks another step in HIVE's pivot from pure Bitcoin mining to high-performance AI computing. The company's BUZZ High Performance Computing unit will provide the GPU cloud layer for the project, utilizing 2,304 Nvidia Grace Blackwell GPUs at Bell's AI Fabric facility in Merritt, British Columbia.
AI Infrastructure
The infrastructure will support Cohere's enterprise AI models for Canadian government and corporate customers, with the compute layer remaining on Canadian soil. This aligns with Canada's push for domestic AI systems and local control of data. Bell AI Fabric will provide the data centre and network services, while Cohere will use the platform for foundation models and enterprise AI tools.
Business Impact
The contract strengthens HIVE's shift away from relying solely on Bitcoin mining revenue, as the company builds an AI and high-performance computing business under BUZZ HPC. Miners are seeking new uses for power, cooling, and data centre capacity, and this deal reflects a wider trend across the mining sector. HIVE is not the only Bitcoin miner turning to AI infrastructure, with other mining-linked firms also converting data centre capacity for AI and cloud computing customers.
Financial Projections
The project is expected to go live from late 2026 to early 2027, with reports suggesting the contract could add around $70 million in annual recurring revenue. This would lift HIVE's contracted high-performance computing revenue target above $100 million when combined with its existing run rate. HIVE's high-performance computing revenue rose 94% to $19.5 million in fiscal 2026, and the company has outlined a larger AI plan in Canada, including a proposed Toronto AI "super factory".
Market Context
The shift towards AI infrastructure reflects the mining sector's efforts to diversify revenue streams as mining margins fall. Miners already own power contracts, cooling systems, technical teams, and facilities that can support GPU workloads, making them well-suited to serve AI customers. The Bell and Cohere contract gives HIVE a clearer commercial case for its AI strategy and a major AI customer relationship as demand for sovereign cloud infrastructure grows in Canada.
Based on reporting from crypto.news.
