The co-founder of IREN says AI development is being held back more by infrastructure than by chip availability.

IREN co-founder Daniel Roberts has detailed an ambitious roadmap to transform the company into a vertically integrated AI infrastructure platform spanning energy, data centers, GPU compute, and enterprise software.

In a post on X on Friday, Roberts said the biggest constraint on artificial intelligence growth is no longer chip supply, but the physical infrastructure needed to support large-scale AI deployment.

“AI demand grows exponentially. Infrastructure doesn’t,” he wrote, pointing to growing bottlenecks in power availability, land access, cooling systems, and data center construction.

Roberts outlined IREN’s structure as a three-layer model: foundational infrastructure such as power and data centers, a compute layer built on NVIDIA GPUs and server systems, and a software layer focused on enterprise applications and operational tools.

He noted that “Layers 1 and 2 are where the overwhelming majority of IREN’s value is being created today,” while “Layer 3 is where that advantage compounds over time.”

Previously known as Iris Energy, IREN has expanded beyond bitcoin mining into AI infrastructure, reflecting a broader industry shift. The company now operates across Texas, British Columbia, Oklahoma, Spain, and Australia, with roughly 5 gigawatts of secured grid-connected capacity worldwide.

Roberts added that owning the full infrastructure stack could create a long-term competitive moat as global AI demand accelerates, particularly in regions such as Europe and Asia-Pacific where capacity remains tight.

The update also highlighted IREN’s expanding partnership with NVIDIA (NVDA), including a recently announced five-year, $3.4 billion AI cloud contract tied to Blackwell GPU deployments in Texas.

Separately, WhiteFiber (WYFI) announced a five-year AI compute agreement worth more than $160 million with an investment-grade technology client in France. The deal involves NVIDIA GPU deployments and supports its continued expansion in Europe.

WhiteFiber provides AI cloud and high-performance computing services built on third-party data center infrastructure, while IREN focuses on owning and operating the underlying physical layer.

Following the announcements, WYFI shares jumped 22% on Thursday and added another 5% in Friday premarket trading, while IREN shares rose about 10% on Thursday.