HIVE shares surge after $220M Bell–Cohere deal accelerates move from Bitcoin mining to AI compute
HIVE Digital Technologies’ stock jumped after the company announced a $220 million, three‑year GPU cloud contract with Bell Canada and AI firm Cohere — a landmark deal that further cements HIVE’s pivot from pure Bitcoin mining into high‑performance AI computing.
What the deal includes
- HIVE’s BUZZ High Performance Computing (HPC) unit will supply the GPU cloud layer.
- Deployment: 2,304 Nvidia Grace Blackwell GPUs located at Bell’s AI Fabric data centre in Merritt, British Columbia.
- Use case: the infrastructure will host Cohere’s enterprise AI models for Canadian government and corporate customers, with compute and data remaining on Canadian soil.
- Roles: Bell AI Fabric will provide the data centre and network services; Cohere will run foundation models and enterprise AI tools; Hypertec will supply Canadian‑built hardware for the cluster.
Why it matters
- Sovereign AI: By keeping the compute layer in Canada, the project aligns with national efforts to secure domestic control over sensitive data and AI infrastructure. Bell AI Fabric’s Michel Richer said Canada has “the talent and innovation to lead in AI,” while Cohere’s Michael Pelosi stressed that buyers need to know “where those models run” and how data is protected.
- Revenue boost: The project is expected to go live between late 2026 and early 2027 and could add roughly $70 million in annual recurring revenue. Combined with HIVE’s existing run rate, that would push its contracted HPC revenue above $100 million. Prior to the Bell‑Cohere contract, BUZZ HPC had reached about $35 million in contracted recurring revenue.
- Track record: HIVE’s high‑performance computing revenue rose 94% to $19.5 million in fiscal 2026, showing rapid growth as the company diversifies beyond mining.
Sector context
HIVE isn’t alone in repurposing mining assets for AI workloads. Miners such as IREN and Bitdeer and other industry players are converting data centre capacity to serve AI and cloud customers. The rationale is straightforward: miners already own power contracts, cooling infrastructure, facilities and technical teams that can be adapted to run GPU clusters — a natural hedge when Bitcoin mining margins compress.
Bigger strategy
HIVE has previously outlined ambitious AI plans in Canada, including a proposed Toronto “super factory” with 320 megawatts of capacity and more than 100,000 GPUs. The Bell–Cohere contract provides a commercial anchor and a marquee customer relationship for that roadmap, reinforcing HIVE’s case that miners can meaningfully compete in sovereign AI infrastructure markets.
Bottom line
The $220 million Bell‑Cohere engagement marks a key milestone for HIVE’s transformation from a Bitcoin miner into a player in the high‑performance AI compute market — and signals growing demand among governments and enterprises for on‑shore, secure AI infrastructure.
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