# IREN's $2.8B AI Deals Highlight New Funding Model > Source: > Published: 2026-07-21 12:32:40+00:00 # IREN's $2.8B AI Deals Highlight New Funding Model The company raised AI cloud ARR target above $4 billion after signing $2.8 billion in new contracts, pointing to a financing model gaining traction across AI infrastructure. AI infrastructure company IREN said it has signed $2.8 billion in new multi-year AI cloud contracts, raising its year-end AI cloud annualized run-rate revenue target from $3.7 billion to more than $4 billion as demand for GPU infrastructure continues to outstrip available capacity. The announcement offers another sign that the AI infrastructure market is evolving beyond simply adding more GPUs. Large AI developers are also helping finance new deployments. The company said recent contracts include customer prepayments covering roughly 45% of the GPU capital expenditures associated with those deployments, reducing IREN's net funding requirements. An IREN spokesperson told Data Center Knowledge that such prepayments are “an increasingly common feature of AI cloud contracts,” suggesting customers are committing capital earlier to secure access to scarce AI compute. “When AI labs and developers pay 45% upfront, they are essentially acting as project co-investors to lock down guaranteed capacity,” Dave McCarthy, research vice president of cloud and edge infrastructure services at IDC, told Data Center Knowledge. “This highlights just how severely demand outstrips supply for high-end AI compute.” “For infrastructure operators, this funding model dramatically lowers net capital requirements and de-risks multi-billion dollar expansions,” he said. IREN said roughly 85% of its targeted 2026 AI cloud annualized run-rate revenue is now under contract following the new agreements. “Our vertically integrated AI Cloud platform is scaling at pace,” Daniel Roberts, IREN co-founder and co-CEO, said in a statement. “In the past 12 months we have expanded from approximately 3 MW of self-built AI Cloud capacity to 480 MW being delivered this year, with 1.2 GW targeted for 2027.” ## Long-Term Contracts Support Expansion IREN said its customer base now includes Microsoft, Nvidia, Perplexity, Figure AI, Together AI, Fluidstack, Fireworks AI, Fal AI, Hume AI and an undisclosed AI developer across bare metal and managed cloud services. The company said its AI cloud contracts now have a weighted average term of about four years, providing predictable revenue as it continues expanding capacity. IREN also said it remains selective about allocating infrastructure before it comes online despite demand from hyperscalers, enterprises and frontier AI labs exceeding both its available and planned capacity. The company plans to grow from approximately 480 MW of AI cloud capacity this year to 1.2 GW in 2027. ## Financing Becomes Part of the AI Infrastructure Race Customer prepayments have received relatively little attention compared with headline GPU purchases or campus announcements, but they could become an important part of how AI infrastructure is financed. Modern AI clusters require billions of dollars in GPUs, networking equipment and supporting infrastructure before generating revenue. By contributing capital upfront, customers can reduce the financing burden on cloud providers while securing priority access to compute capacity. The arrangement reflects a market where demand remains strong enough that customers are willing to commit both long-term contracts and capital well before systems enter service. IREN said it held approximately $7.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of June 30.