Bitcoin Miner MARA Eyes $168M Deal for Majority Stake in French AI Data Firm

MARA Holdings is in advanced talks to acquire a controlling interest in French data infrastructure company Exaion. 

The deal could be worth US$168M (AU$254M) in cash for a 64% stake. The seller, EDF Pulse Ventures, is part of French state energy giant Électricité de France.

Pivoting Towards AI

Exaion operates data centres and delivers cloud and artificial intelligence infrastructure, with MARA’s interest focused on building AI inference capabilities, a segment of AI processing that typically carries lower capital requirements than full hyperscale data-centre operations. 

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A Bloomberg report noted this sets MARA apart from rivals like Core Scientific and Hut 8, which are targeting hyperscaler contracts.

The reason behind the move may be a tad evident given the sharp rise in the Bitcoin price. This also means that network difficulty surges to record levels, pressuring miners with higher energy requirements and lower margins.

This disrupts traditional operations, which could explain why so many are pushing to pivot toward AI and high-performance computing. 

Fred Thiel, MARA’s chairman and CEO, said the partnership is aimed at delivering cloud systems that are both energy-efficient and built with robust data protection in mind, aligning with priorities increasingly set by governments and corporations.

As data protection and energy efficiency become top priorities for both governments and enterprises, MARA and Exaion’s combined expertise would enable us to deliver secure and scalable cloud solutions built for the future of AI.

Fred Thiel

While several competitors retooled existing facilities for AI workloads, MARA deliberately waited, Thiel told Bloomberg, choosing to invest in a company with established expertise, an existing customer base, and infrastructure already tailored for the sector.

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