Microsoft's $9.7 Billion AI Agreement and Investments

Microsoft Signs Major Artificial Intelligence Agreement with IREN Ltd.

The US-based technology giant Microsoft has signed a significant contract worth a total of $9.7 billion with Australia's IREN Ltd. for Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) artificial intelligence cloud services. With this agreement, Microsoft has become the largest customer of data center company IREN, which operates on renewable energy.

Details of the 5-Year Agreement

IREN announced on Monday that this five-year agreement would provide Microsoft with access to GB300 GPU models produced by Nvidia and includes a 20% upfront payment. Additionally, the necessary GPUs along with related technical equipment will be purchased from Dell Technologies for $5.8 billion.

New Facility and Investments in Texas

These GPUs will be housed in IREN's facility in Texas throughout 2026. This facility will have a total capacity of 750MW and new 200MW liquid-cooled data centers will also be built to support critical computing infrastructure.

IREN's Expectations

IREN CEO Danial Roberts stated that following the implementation of this agreement, the company hopes to achieve $1.94 billion in revenue. He also emphasized his satisfaction with collaborating with Microsoft, noting that discussions accelerated as artificial intelligence cloud capabilities increased.

Stock Reactions

Immediately after the announcement of the agreement, IREN's shares rose by 28%, while Dell's shares also increased by 4%. However, no changes were observed in Microsoft's shares.

Additional Investments in the United Arab Emirates

Microsoft announced that it would invest over $7.9 billion in data centers and cloud technology in the United Arab Emirates by 2029. The company plans to invest more than $5.5 billion in cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure starting in early 2026.

Statements from Brad Smith

Microsoft President Brad Smith stated on Monday in Abu Dhabi, "The money we raise here is not this. This is the money we invest and spend. We are seeing demand explode here."

OpenAI had selected UAE as the first country outside the US to host the Stargate data center project.