CoreWeave Inc. is set to acquire data-center operator Core Scientific Inc. in a $9 billion all-stock deal to gain greater control over the infrastructure fueling the AI boom.
Through this acquisition, CoreWeave will gain access to over a gigawatt of data-center capacity across the U.S., much of which is already supporting its clients’ AI workloads, including training and deployment. The company stated on Monday that by owning more of its supply chain, it can cut out lease-related expenses, lower overall project financing costs, and better secure long-term revenue growth.
Cloud infrastructure companies are rapidly expanding their data center operations to keep up with the surging demand driven by artificial intelligence, sparking a flurry of deals and collaborations across the sector. Just last week, Oracle Corp. and OpenAI announced an agreement to secure 4.5 gigawatts of data-center capacity. Meanwhile, CoreWeave has emerged as a key player in this AI infrastructure boom, with its stock price soaring nearly 300% since its public debut in March—fueled by strong investor interest in AI and high-profile partnerships with major players like Nvidia Corp.
In an interview Monday, CoreWeave Chief Executive Officer Michael Intrator framed the acquisition as part of the company’s strategy to “participate all along the stack,” noting the company’s recent takeover of the AI developer platform Weights and Biases Inc. Intrator said his company will continue to “scour the market and the world for assets that we believe drive our company forward.”
CoreWeave and Core Scientific will need the blessing of regulators. Intrator said he doesn’t expect antitrust issues to surface. “Core Scientific is a small data-center provider relative to the market, and CoreWeave is not one of the hyperscalers,” he said.
According to CoreWeave’s statement, the deal values Core Scientific’s stock at $20.40 per share — a 66% premium over its June 25 closing price of $12.30, the day before news of the advanced talks broke via the Wall Street Journal. As of the most recent close on Thursday, Core Scientific’s shares stood at $18.
“Currently, we pay fees to Core Scientific for hosting as we use their facilities,” Intrator said. “When we acquire them, we will be able to recapture that margin internally,” he said, noting that CoreWeave expects to save $500 million in annual costs by the end of 2027.
The companies expect to close the deal in the fourth quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approvals. Upon completion, CoreWeave stated that Core Scientific shareholders will own less than 10% of the merged entity.
Following the announcement, CoreWeave’s shares dipped 3.4% to $159.51 as of 1:43 p.m. in New York, while Core Scientific’s stock fell 17% to $14.88 — trading over $5 below the offer price, indicating investor skepticism around the deal’s terms.
Core Scientific has long led the Bitcoin mining industry, operating large-scale data centers that use energy-intensive computing systems to generate the original cryptocurrency. However, the company filed for bankruptcy during the crypto market downturn. It later emerged from bankruptcy in January last year, buoyed by a strong Bitcoin recovery and a strategic shift toward AI-focused infrastructure.
Core Scientific became a key infrastructure partner for CoreWeave by utilizing its expansive data center footprint and substantial power access to support AI workloads. Through the acquisition, CoreWeave will gain control of approximately 1.3 gigawatts of data-center capacity from Core Scientific’s network — a scale far exceeding that of most individual U.S. data centers. To put it in perspective, one gigawatt can power around 750,000 American homes.
This deal follows CoreWeave’s earlier move last year, when it proposed a $1 billion acquisition of Core Scientific. At that time, the two companies also entered into a series of 12-year agreements, under which Core Scientific committed to providing 200 megawatts of infrastructure to host CoreWeave’s operations.
