BTC miner Phoenix shifts toward AI infrastructure in Europe

Abu Dhabi-based Phoenix Group is making a shift from BTC mining to building large‑scale AI and high‑performance computing (HPC) infrastructure, with its first contract (pdf) for an 18 MW data center in Lyon, France — marking its first venture into global AI infrastructure.

Yes, it’s a full-on shift. “AI and HPC infrastructure is where the majority of our capital and focus is directed going forward,” Founder and CEO Munaf Ali tells EnterpriseAM, describing it as an “evolution” given the foundations already built with BTC mining. “BTC mining is fundamentally an infrastructure business built around power procurement, large-scale compute, cooling, and the ability to energize facilities at speed,” Ali explains. “Those are exactly the capabilities that the AI and HPC markets demand.”

He expects AI and HPC infrastructure to become the dominant part of the business by contribution, with plans to develop a 1 GW platform across the GCC and Europe.

It’s mostly about timing: “AI infrastructure demand is outpacing supply globally,” he explains. “The window to establish strong positions, with the right sites, power, and partnerships is open now, and we have the operational capability and balance sheet to move, so we are moving.”

But it’s also about de-risking: Last year, Ali told Semafor that both AI and crypto de-risk each other. “BTC mining can be operational in six months,” while an AI data center can take years to build and to lock in tenants, he said at the time.

The details: The company is working with DC Max, a French data center developer with a 1 GW pipeline already in the bag, valued at USD 8 bn, on the project. DC Max is bringing to the fore its grid access and on-the-ground relationships, with the project now ready to go: land is secured in Lyon, where costs are “significantly lower than in Paris,” as the statement says, and the grid connection is in place with available power.

The project is on track to begin construction in July 2026, with an eye to deliver the data center in 4Q 2027 or 1Q 2028. That clear timeline, coupled with the fact that the site is already permitted with grid and power connection available, is a “genuinely rare combination in the current European market — and that profile attracts serious demand,” he says, noting that there are “active conversations” with potential tenants underway.

What’s next?

The company said it plans to make “further announcements” this year, with both Europe and the GCC in its sights.

Why the focus on Europe? The company sees it as a “growth engine” alongside its expertise in the GCC. “France alone has a pipeline that supports serious scale, and we are not limiting our ambitions to a single country,” Ali says, without disclosing a specific planned geographic breakdown for the 1 GW target.

Where next? “Sequencing will reflect where the right combination of site readiness, power, and commercial terms comes together first,” he tells us.

Background

Phoenix has been scaling its mining operations across the GCC, North America, and Ethiopia, with around 550 MW of deployed capacity. The company just last November launched a 30 MW hydropower-backed mining facility in Addis Ababa, with the company saying at the time it plans to diversify into new streams of digital infrastructure like AI hosting.

It was also eyeing a US listing, which it is still “evaluating seriously,” though there are no concrete updates on that front.