Microsoft Signs $9.7B AI Deal With IREN

Microsoft signed a five-year, roughly $9.7 billion agreement with Australian data‑centre operator IREN for access to Nvidia GB300-based AI systems hosted at IREN’s Childress, Texas campus, including a roughly 20% prepayment. IREN will buy about $5.8 billion of GPUs and related equipment from Dell and expects roughly $1.9–1.94 billion in annualized revenue from the pact. The announcement sent IREN shares soaring (continuing a roughly 500% rally this year) and produced an estimated ~$84 million windfall for investor Paul Tudor Jones. Analysts called the deal a major commercial validation of “neocloud” operators that repurpose mining capacity for AI but cautioned that IREN’s fundamentals remain unproven and its valuation looks rich; Microsoft also retains termination rights if delivery timelines aren’t met. Microsoft separately pledged nearly $8 billion through 2029 for UAE data centers, cloud services and staff as it expands capacity while leasing external compute to plug immediate AI shortages.