Core Scientific signs 529 MW of data center leases, with AMD taking most capacity
AMD leased 377 MW and can reserve another 1.9 GW. A second customer signed for 152 MW, while AMD received warrants for up to 30 million shares.
By The Third AnglePublished Updated 4 min read
Server racks at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. The image is illustrative and does not show a Core Scientific facility. Photo: Derrick Coetzee / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0
Core Scientific has signed 15-year data center leases covering 529 megawatts across five sites in four states, with chipmaker AMD accounting for 377 megawatts of the initial capacity, according to a Form 8-K filed Tuesday.
An unnamed cloud company signed for the other 152 megawatts at sites in Alabama and Georgia. AMD's leases cover facilities in Pecos and Hunt County, Texas, and Muskogee, Oklahoma.
AMD can reserve another 1,925 megawatts through December 28, 2028. Adding that option to the signed leases produces 2,454 megawatts, which the companies described as an opportunity to scale to 2.5 gigawatts. The extra capacity is not yet under lease.
AMD could become a major shareholder
Core Scientific also issued AMD a warrant to buy up to 30 million shares at $23.47 each. About 6.5 million shares vested when the first leases were signed. The rest vest at 12,222 shares for each additional megawatt, subject to the agreement's conditions.
The warrant gives AMD the right to acquire an equity stake that can grow alongside additional capacity. Exercise of vested warrants would dilute existing shareholders. The filing does not say whether AMD plans to exercise them.
Colocation now provides most of Core Scientific's revenue
Core Scientific is still mining bitcoin, but colocation is now its largest business by revenue. The company's second-quarter filing shows $136.7 million of colocation revenue on $164.2 million of total revenue. Self-mining generated $21.5 million, while hosted mining added $6 million.
Colocation therefore supplied about 83% of quarterly revenue. Core Scientific has said it plans to convert more of its mining facilities to high-density data center use when the economics and site conditions support it.
Mining sites can bring power access, land and existing grid connections to a data center project. They do not remove the cost or difficulty of building infrastructure for AI systems, which require different equipment and operating conditions.
The expansion still carries execution risk
The filings do not name the second customer or disclose the full economics of the reserved capacity. They also leave open how construction costs will be divided and when each site will be ready. Core Scientific and AMD said the first deployments are expected to begin in 2027.
Core Scientific spent $954.2 million on capital projects during the first half of 2026, including $180.9 million funded by CoreWeave. More spending will be needed as it converts power agreements and construction plans into operating data centers.
For now, 529 megawatts is under contract. The remaining 1,925 megawatts depend on AMD reserving the capacity before the deadline and on Core Scientific delivering the sites.
