HIVE shares jump as $220M AI deal speeds Bitcoin mining pivot

HIVE Digital Technologies shares rose after the company announced a $220 million, three-year GPU cloud contract with Bell Canada and Cohere. 

The deal adds another step to HIVE’s move from pure Bitcoin mining into high-performance AI computing.

The company said its BUZZ High Performance Computing unit will provide the GPU cloud layer for the project. The deployment will use 2,304 Nvidia Grace Blackwell GPUs at Bell’s AI Fabric facility in Merritt, British Columbia.

Bell and Cohere anchor Canadian AI stack

The infrastructure will support Cohere’s enterprise AI models for Canadian government and corporate customers. HIVE said the compute layer will stay on Canadian soil, matching Canada’s push for domestic AI systems and local control of data.

Bell AI Fabric will provide the data centre and network services. Cohere will use the platform for foundation models and enterprise AI tools, while Hypertec will supply Canadian-built hardware for the cluster.

Bell AI Fabric executive Michel Richer said Canada has “the talent and innovation to lead in AI.” Cohere’s Michael Pelosi said enterprise and government AI buyers need to know “where those models run” and how data stays protected.

Bitcoin miner deepens AI pivot

The contract strengthens HIVE’s shift away from relying only on Bitcoin mining revenue. The company has been building an AI and high-performance computing business under BUZZ HPC as miners search for new uses for power, cooling, and data centre capacity.

The project is expected to go live from late 2026 to early 2027. Reports said the contract could add about $70 million in annual recurring revenue. That would lift HIVE’s contracted high-performance computing revenue target above $100 million when combined with its existing run rate.

As previously reported by crypto.news, HIVE’s high-performance computing revenue rose 94% to $19.5 million in fiscal 2026. Crypto.news also reported that BUZZ HPC had reached $35 million in contracted recurring revenue before the new Canada deal.

Miners race for AI revenue

HIVE is not the only Bitcoin miner turning to AI infrastructure. Crypto.news earlier reported that IREN, Bitdeer, and other mining-linked firms are converting data centre capacity for AI and cloud computing customers.

The shift reflects a wider trend across the mining sector. Miners already own power contracts, cooling systems, technical teams, and facilities that can support GPU workloads. Those assets can help them serve AI customers when mining margins fall.

HIVE has also outlined a larger AI plan in Canada. Crypto.news previously reported that the company announced a proposed Toronto AI “super factory” with 320 megawatts of capacity and more than 100,000 GPUs.

The Bell and Cohere contract gives HIVE a clearer commercial case for that strategy. It also gives the company a major AI customer relationship as demand for sovereign cloud infrastructure grows in Canada.