HIVE Digital Technologies advances AI infrastructure with 320 MW gigafactory in Ontario
HIVE Digital Technologies just announced plans to build a 320 MW AI data center in Ontario’s Greater Toronto Area, a facility the company is calling a “gigafactory” that would house more than 100,000 GPUs at full capacity. The project carries a targeted investment of CAD $3.5 billion, roughly $2.5 billion USD, making it one of the largest AI infrastructure bets by a company that built its name mining Bitcoin.
Investors apparently liked what they heard. HIVE’s stock surged 25-28% immediately following the May 18 announcement.
What HIVE is actually building
The company acquired approximately 25 acres of land in the Toronto-Waterloo corridor for CAD $58 million. HIVE has secured a 320 MW power allocation from Ontario’s clean energy grid, which includes nuclear, hydro, and renewable sources.
The facility will use closed-loop cooling systems designed to minimize water consumption. Operations are projected to begin in the second half of 2027. The build is expected to create more than 800 construction jobs along with hundreds of permanent skilled positions once operational.
From Bitcoin mining to GPU compute
Currently, HIVE has about 5,500 GPUs online for AI compute. Going from 5,500 to over 100,000 is a roughly 18x increase in GPU deployment.
The Ontario gigafactory isn’t HIVE’s only expansion play. The company has a 70 MW site in New Brunswick as part of a broader pipeline that would support approximately 130,000 GPUs total. Its global power capacity is moving toward 850 MW across all operations.
HIVE reported fiscal year 2026 revenue of $297.8 million, a 158% increase year-over-year.
What this means for investors
A CAD $3.5 billion capital commitment from a company with $297.8 million in annual revenue is ambitious by any standard. Financing that build-out will require some combination of debt, equity, partnerships, or pre-committed customer contracts.
Major AI companies including Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have all made net-zero pledges that make the carbon intensity of their compute supply chain a procurement factor. A facility powered by Ontario’s nuclear-heavy grid scores well on that metric.
The competitive landscape includes CoreWeave, Lambda, and a growing list of well-funded startups all racing to build or lease AI compute infrastructure, alongside hyperscalers spending tens of billions annually on their own data centers.
Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.
You may also like
The AI boom may follow the path of the 19th-century railway bubble, and builders may not be the ultimate winners
Goldman Sachs analyst Bobby Molavi compared the current situation to the 19th-century British railway mania: 500 companies spent more than the nation's annual income building 8,000 miles of railway, with most early investors losing out, while the real beneficiaries were the later "passengers." He pointed out that the current AI craze is driven by both debt and momentum, and that the S&P 500’s forward P/E ratio of 18x is only "a bit cheaper." Whether the builders can retain value is uncertain, and history does not offer an optimistic answer.
If Anthropic's IPO goes smoothly and the stock price rises next week, then everything remains the same for AI. Otherwise, some companies will go bankrupt.
The shrinking valuations of two major giants have triggered a chain reaction—investors are adopting more conservative revenue multiples for AI startups and are directly halting high-valuation financing for companies with zero revenue. Multiple venture capital firms have advised their portfolio companies to lower valuation expectations and to quickly build up cash reserves. Market participants warn that the outcome of Anthropic’s IPO will be a barometer for the industry: if successful, the boom will continue; if it fails, some companies may face elimination.
After the Brazilian election, political discount deepens; Morgan Stanley remains bullish on Petrobras (PBR.US), focusing on fuel pricing and dividends
Morgan Stanley still maintains its most optimistic "Overweight" rating, but has lowered its year-end 2027 target price from $31 to $25.
Corning (GLW.US) receives initial "Buy" rating from Jefferies! AI factories driving a fiber optic rush, with a potential global supply gap of up to 30%
For Corning, the recent profit growth mainly comes from the expansion of AI clusters. As the number of optical links crossing cabinets and campuses increases, customers need to deploy more optical fibers within limited conduit and cabinet space, thus driving demand for high-density optical cables and connection systems.
Crypto prices
More
