
IREN plans South Australian AI data centre
Australian-founded digital infrastructure provider IREN (NASDAQ:IREN) unveiled plans to build its first domestic data centre campus in South Australia to capture the Asia-Pacific region’s artificial intelligence boom.
The former Bitcoin miner has executed a crucial transmission connection agreement for a 800-megawatt facility in Bundey, positioned to satisfy tech companies' intensifying global scramble for high-performance compute workloads, power, and land.
Slated to become operational in 2028 pending regulatory approvals, the campus will plug directly into South Australia’s high-voltage transmission network.
IREN intends to funnel critical AI processing power across the APAC region, linking Australia directly to key regional digital demand centres including Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea, and Japan.
"South Australia offers what AI infrastructure at scale requires: abundant clean energy, the connectivity to serve the APAC region, and a state government that understands the opportunity," said IREN co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts.
Over the past year, IREN has secured a multibillion-dollar AI cloud agreement with Microsoft and a partnership with Nvidia.
The firm locked in $3.65 billion in A-rated financing backed by that Microsoft contract, effectively funding its upcoming graphic processing unit procurement.