MARA Holdings surges 17% after partnering with Starwood Capital Group to develop AI-focused data centers.

Shares of MARA Holdings surged 17% after the company unveiled a partnership with Starwood Capital Group to develop large-scale data centers across several of its existing U.S. sites.

Under the agreement, select MARA facilities — many originally built for bitcoin mining — will be converted and expanded to support enterprise cloud computing and artificial intelligence workloads. Starwood, which oversees more than $125 billion in assets, will spearhead design, construction and tenant acquisition through its data center platform, Starwood Digital Ventures. The companies plan to roll out roughly 1 gigawatt of computing capacity in the near term, with ambitions to scale beyond 2.5 gigawatts over time. Financing and operations will be handled jointly.

The move represents a significant strategic shift for MARA. While the firm built its brand as a bitcoin miner, it also controls sites with access to substantial power infrastructure — a scarce and increasingly valuable resource as technology companies compete to secure electricity for AI data centers.

MARA’s pivot aligns with a broader industry trend, as bitcoin miners look to repurpose energy-intensive infrastructure to meet growing demand for AI and high-performance computing. The shift accelerated after Bitcoin’s most recent halving reduced block rewards by 50%. Combined with rising energy costs, softer bitcoin prices and intensifying competition, the halving has pressured mining margins and pushed many operators to diversify.

Earlier this month, Bitfarms announced it would rebrand as Keel Infrastructure as part of its transition from bitcoin mining toward data center development focused on AI and high-performance computing workloads.

Despite the expansion into AI infrastructure, MARA says it is not abandoning its core business. CEO Fred Thiel reiterated in a shareholder letter that bitcoin remains central to the company’s long-term strategy.

“Bitcoin remains a core pillar of MARA’s strategy,” Thiel wrote, adding that while the timing of a price recovery is uncertain, the firm’s conviction in the asset class remains intact.

Separately, MARA reported fourth-quarter results showing revenue declined 6% year over year to $202.3 million, down from $214.4 million in the same period of 2024. The company attributed the drop to a 14% decrease in the average price of bitcoin mined during the quarter.