HIVE Digital Expands Into AI With Toronto Data Center Purchase
HIVE Digital just made its first big move into high-performance computing—snagging a 7.2-megawatt data center in Toronto. The deal, announced Monday, is part of the company’s push into AI infrastructure through its new subsidiary, BUZZ HPC.
The facility, tucked into Canada’s biggest tech hub, isn’t just another data center. HIVE plans to retrofit it with liquid-cooled systems, aiming for Tier 3 certification, and pack it with up to 5,000 next-gen GPUs. That’s a serious upgrade. The goal? To build what they’re calling “sovereign Canadian AI infrastructure”—basically, homegrown computing power for government, universities, and big businesses.
It’s a smart play, really. With everyone scrambling for AI-ready data centers, HIVE’s timing seems sharp. And let’s be honest—crypto mining companies have been eyeing this shift for a while. The lines between blockchain and AI infrastructure are blurring, and HIVE’s betting it can straddle both.
Not Just AI—Bitcoin Mining Still in the Mix
Don’t think HIVE’s ditching crypto, though. Far from it. The company’s bitcoin mining ops are still humming, even as it diversifies. They recently crossed 11 exahashes per second (EH/s) after finishing their Paraguay site ahead of schedule. Now they’re gunning for 25 EH/s by late November—apparently aiming to hit that milestone around U.S. Thanksgiving.
May was a solid month, too. HIVE mined 139 BTC, marking a 32% jump in realized computing power from April. That’s not nothing, especially with bitcoin’s ups and downs lately.
Why This Move Makes Sense
The Toronto purchase isn’t just about real estate. HIVE’s already been dabbling in high-performance computing hosting, pulling in over $7 million in revenue from it in the last nine months of 2023. This feels like doubling down.
And let’s face it—AI’s hunger for computing power isn’t slowing down. Governments want control over their data, universities need heavy-duty number crunching, and companies are desperate for GPU time. If HIVE can position itself as a go-to for that, well, it’s a safer bet than riding crypto’s rollercoaster alone.
Still, it’s early days. Data center upgrades take time, and AI’s a crowded field. But for a company originally built on bitcoin mining, this is a pretty bold pivot. Or maybe just a smart hedge. Either way, it’s one to watch.
(Original report from Theminermag [linked here].)
