IREN Co-Founder Says AI Infrastructure Is Bigger Challenge Than Chips

IREN Focuses on Power and Data Centers as AI Demand Surges

IREN co-founder Daniel Roberts believes the biggest challenge facing artificial intelligence is no longer access to chips but the physical infrastructure needed to support rapid growth. In recent remarks, Roberts said rising global AI demand is increasing pressure on power supply, land availability, cooling systems and data center construction.

According to Roberts, IREN’s long-term strategy focuses on building a vertically integrated AI platform that combines power generation, land ownership, data centers, GPU computing and enterprise software.

Vertical Integration Seen as Competitive Advantage

The company, previously known as Iris Energy, has expanded beyond bitcoin mining into AI infrastructure, joining a growing industry shift. Roberts said IREN has secured nearly 5 gigawatts of grid-connected power capacity worldwide, positioning the company to benefit from rising compute demand, particularly in Europe and Asia-Pacific markets.

He also highlighted IREN’s growing relationship with NVIDIA, including a recently announced five-year AI cloud agreement tied to Blackwell GPU deployments in Texas.

WhiteFiber Gains on New AI Infrastructure Deal

Separately, WhiteFiber announced a five-year AI compute agreement worth more than $160 million in France using NVIDIA GPUs. Following the update, WhiteFiber shares rose in premarket trading, while IREN stock also gained momentum.