Riot Hires Data Center Chief as Bitcoin Miner Ramps Up HPC and AI Hosting Plans

Riot Platforms (NASDAQ: RIOT) has appointed Jonathan Gibbs as its new Chief Data Center Officer (CDCO) as the company pushes deeper into high-performance computing (HPC) and AI hosting.

Gibbs, a veteran with more than 15 years of experience designing and developing large-scale data centers, will spearhead Riot’s new data center platform aimed at hyperscale and enterprise clients, according to Riot’s announcement on Monday.

Riot’s latest move underscores a growing trend in the Bitcoin mining industry as companies look to diversify beyond mining into more stable revenue streams tied to data center services. Earlier this year, Riot announced it would pause its Bitcoin mining hashrate expansion at its Corsicana, Texas facility and reserve the site’s 600 megawatts of capacity for potential HPC opportunities.

“The creation of this new data center platform furthers Riot’s strategy to maximize the value of its assets by expanding into non-bitcoin-related data centers,” said CEO Jason Les.

Gibbs brings a track record of overseeing data center projects totaling more than one gigawatt across North America, Europe, and Asia, with investments exceeding $17 billion. Before joining Riot, he served as Executive Vice President of Product Delivery at Prime Data Centers, where he led U.S. data center design and construction efforts.

Riot’s entry into the data center market comes as several major Bitcoin miners are pivoting toward HPC and AI hosting to diversify revenue streams and capitalize on the digital infrastructure boom.

Bitfarms (NASDAQ: BITF) recently hired James Bond, a data center industry veteran, to lead its own HPC initiatives, while Bit Digital (NASDAQ: BTBT) and HIVE Digital (NASDAQ: HIVE) have set up separate subsidiaries focused on high-performance computing. Applied Digital, which already operates data centers for Bitcoin mining, saw its stock surge after announcing a large-scale lease deal with AI hyperscaler CoreWeave.