Shares of MARA Holdings jumped 17% after the company unveiled a partnership with Starwood Capital Group to transform parts of its U.S. footprint into large-scale data centers aimed at artificial intelligence and enterprise cloud customers.

The agreement will repurpose select MARA facilities — originally constructed for bitcoin mining — into infrastructure capable of supporting AI and high-performance computing workloads. Starwood, which manages more than $125 billion in assets, will direct the design, construction and tenant sourcing through its data center division, Starwood Digital Ventures. The companies expect to bring roughly 1 gigawatt of capacity online in the near term, with plans to scale beyond 2.5 gigawatts over time. The projects will be jointly financed and operated.

The move underscores a broader strategic evolution for MARA. While best known as a bitcoin miner, the company controls sites with substantial access to power — a critical asset as technology firms compete for electricity to run energy-intensive AI data centers.

The pivot aligns with a growing industry trend that accelerated after Bitcoin’s latest halving reduced mining rewards by 50%. With higher power costs, fluctuating bitcoin prices and increasing competition squeezing margins, many miners have diversified into hosting and infrastructure services for AI developers.

Recently, Bitfarms announced plans to rebrand as Keel Infrastructure as it transitions from bitcoin mining toward AI-focused data center development.

Despite the diversification, MARA is not abandoning its core business. Chief Executive Fred Thiel reaffirmed 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, noting that while the timing of a rebound in bitcoin prices is uncertain, the company’s conviction in the asset class remains strong.

In its fourth-quarter earnings report, MARA posted revenue of $202.3 million, down 6% from $214.4 million in the same period last year. The decline was attributed to a 14% drop in the average price of bitcoin mined during the quarter.