MARA CEO says AI data centers generate more revenue than Bitcoin mining, triggering major strategic pivot

MARA Holdings CEO Fred Thiel has made the quiet part loud: AI data centers make more money per unit of electricity than Bitcoin mining. And rather than just acknowledging that reality, his company is restructuring its entire business around it. The result is a partnership with Starwood Capital Group to repurpose MARA’s existing mining sites into AI and high-performance computing infrastructure, initially targeting roughly 1 GW of capacity with plans to scale beyond 2.5 GW. MARA’s stock surged 17% on the news. The math behind the pivot AI workloads can generate approximately $25 per kWh, according to industry figures cited in MARA’s strategic communications. That figure dramatically outpaces what Bitcoin mining returns per unit of power. Thiel put it bluntly: “AI companies pay much more per electron compared to mining.” MARA controls over 4 GW of energy capacity, making it one of the largest power portfolios in the digital infrastructure space. The company has even coined a term for its transitional model: “mullet data centers.” Bitcoin mining continues running on existing hardware while sections of each facility get converted to handle AI workloads, keeping revenue flowing during t...