IREN (IREN.US) mysterious client revealed? Rumor has it Anthropic signed a multi-year cloud contract

Zhitong Finance APP has learned that previous reports indicated Anthropic is the mysterious AI cloud client mentioned during IREN Ltd. (IREN.US)'s earnings call several months ago. On Sunday night, IREN shares surged 9.29% in after-hours trading. The Information published an analysis report on the economics of Anthropic's data center leasing, providing detailed disclosure of how this AI lab is driving its cloud partners to accelerate the construction of new data centers. According to AI Weekly, citing the report: "Sources revealed that Anthropic also signed an undisclosed multi-year cloud agreement with IREN."

The report points out that Anthropic's rapid expansion of computing power is "increasingly reliant on current and former Bitcoin mining companies such as Hut 8, TeraWulf, IREN, and Nscale." Neither Anthropic nor IREN commented on the rumors of this cooperation.

In August this year, IREN disclosed that it had signed an agreement with a leading AI lab, but did not reveal the client's name. CEO Daniel Roberts stated on the company's fourth quarter earnings call: "Firstly, regarding clients, the new multi-year cloud contracts include Cohere, Prometheus, Perplexity, Figure AI, Fal AI, Higgsfield AI, and in addition, a leading frontier AI lab whose name we are unable to disclose for now."

If Anthropic joins the client list, it would significantly boost IREN and is likely to strengthen its position as an AI cloud infrastructure provider amid surging demand for computing power.

IREN: Concerns Raised Over Traditional Data Centers

Over the past week, IREN's share price has been under pressure after SemiAnalysis questioned the operational quality of the traditional data centers in British Columbia belonging to this former Bitcoin mining company-turned AI infrastructure provider. SemiAnalysis posted a series of messages on the X platform on Wednesday, stating that it had received reports from multiple clients and end users regarding IREN's Prince George and Mackenzie sites, with users describing them as "the worst sites in the industry."

As of press time, IREN is the hottest ticker on Stocktwits, with retail sentiment leaning "bullish" and several traders expecting the stock to rise further on Monday. One trader wrote: "Either IREN has a deal that needs to be confirmed by the company, or this is just a pump." Another said: "Based on the major news about Anthropic, IREN could see a 20% gain day. I went long overnight at $36.75, with my current stop set at $35.95."

IREN is the weakest performer in the new cloud service provider sector, which also includes CoreWeave (CRWV.US) and Nebius (NBIS.US). IREN's share price has fallen nearly 7% since the start of the year.