Riot Platforms (NASDAQ:RIOT) disclosed in its latest quarterly filing that it has signed a 15‑year lease with Anthropic PBC, the developer behind the Claude AI models, for its Corsicana, Texas campus. The agreement, valued at about $28 billion, covers up to 910 MW of critical IT capacity and represents the bulk of Riot’s contracted power, leaving just 50 MW for AMD. The lease, approved by Riot’s board on November 4, 2026, is described in the filing as a partnership with a “leading Frontier AI Lab.”

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Lease Economics and Financing Structure

Base rent for the Corsicana site starts at $130 per kilowatt‑hour per month and escalates 3% annually, translating to roughly $1.42 billion in annual revenue at full capacity. Riot estimates average annual rent at $1.8 billion over the initial term, or about $54 billion if Anthropic exercises both five‑year extensions. A distinctive feature of the deal is a reimbursement provision that allows Anthropic to recover up to $4 million per megawatt for data‑center modules it installs—potentially $3.6 billion across the full 910 MW. This reimbursement is contingent on Riot raising financing on “market terms reasonably acceptable” to the company. If such financing is unavailable, the lease mandates rent credits amortized with a 12% annual interest rate, effectively letting Anthropic finance the build and recoup costs at a double‑digit rate. Riot’s filing states it expects to fund the reimbursements with non‑recourse project debt, estimating a total capital requirement of $5.5 billion and indicating no immediate equity issuance is planned.

Delivery Timeline and Risk Allocation

The lease phases the delivery of power capacity: 400 MW by June 28, 2027, 200 MW by December 24, 2027, and the remaining 310 MW by July 30, 2028. Should Riot miss these milestones by more than 60 days, Anthropic would earn escalating rent credits, capped at 270 days of base rent for delayed blocks. If a phase is delayed beyond 270 days, Anthropic may terminate that phase’s lease with 30 days’ notice, though force‑majeure extensions of up to a year are permitted. The agreement also restricts Riot from curtailing Anthropic’s power load or enrolling the site in voluntary demand‑response programs without consent, limiting Riot’s ability to monetize excess power. A change‑of‑control clause allows Anthropic to terminate or purchase Riot’s interest at 95% of fair market value, while Riot’s termination rights are limited to payment defaults or bankruptcy.

Implications for Riot’s Bitcoin Holdings

Riot’s focus on financing the Corsicana AI data center coincides with a continued strategy of selling most of the bitcoin it mines. The company reported selling 20,264 BTC—approximately $1.5 billion—in the first nine months of 2026 and expects to maintain this sell‑off approach, leaving only modest bitcoin balances on its balance sheet. This contrasts with peers such as American Bitcoin, which reported a profit boost from holding larger bitcoin positions. The success of the Corsicana project will hinge on Riot’s ability to secure the projected non‑recourse debt without triggering the 12% interest clause, a factor investors will monitor closely.