Core Scientific is poised to secure $3.3 billion through a high-yield bond sale, further solidifying its strategic shift towards artificial intelligence-driven data center operations. The surge in demand for AI services has pushed data centers, power supply, and advanced chip technology to their limits, prompting firms to explore riskier debt market avenues to fund ongoing operational development. Following the sale of $175 million in bitcoin last month, Core Scientific, formerly a prominent bitcoin miner, is now building six data centers designed to support AI workloads, with the capacity leased to CoreWeave under a 12-year agreement expected to yield around $10 billion in revenue.
This move is part of a larger trend, with AI infrastructure-related borrowers raising $17.9 billion in high-yield bonds so far this year. Core Scientific’s decision follows a series of significant deals, including recent offerings tied to Google-backed data centers and CoreWeave, which collectively raised $6.7 billion. The company plans to utilize the proceeds to repay existing debt, fund reserves, and support construction across multiple states if costs exceed available funds, highlighting the capital-intensive nature of AI infrastructure development. With its pivot from bitcoin mining to AI hosting, Core Scientific is now focused on maximizing margins, having emerged from reorganization in January 2024 and been relisted on Nasdaq under the ticker CORZ.
The company’s shares have seen a significant increase, up about 6% on Tuesday and nearly 42% this year, amidst the declining bitcoin price.