Core Scientific Pursues 1.5GW AI Data Center Campus in Texas

Core Scientific is driving a transformative shift in its business model, planning to convert its Pecos, Texas campus into a high-density AI-focused data center complex that could reach up to 1.5 gigawatts of gross power capacity. The company said that roughly 1 GW of that capacity would be available for leasing, signaling a move beyond traditional cryptocurrency mining toward AI compute infrastructure amid growing demand for data center capacity.

In a press release issued on Monday, Core Scientific outlined the transition as part of its strategy to differentiate its buildout of next-generation AI infrastructure using its in-house engineering capabilities. The project’s initial data hall has completed foundational work and is moving into vertical construction, with the company targeting first capacity in early 2027. Core Scientific noted that about 300 megawatts of power at the Pecos site, previously allocated to Bitcoin mining, are being repurposed for the new data center operations.

The expansion is supported by new power agreements, including an additional 300 megawatts secured under contract with the local utility provider, and land acquisitions to support scale. Core Scientific said it has acquired more than 200 acres in the Pecos area to accommodate the buildout.

The company also disclosed a broad financing plan to fund the expansion, revealing plans to raise approximately $3.3 billion through senior secured notes due 2031, intended to finance data center development across multiple states including Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma. This follows a separate $1 billion senior credit facility secured from Morgan Stanley in March, underscoring the capital-intensive path of building out AI-ready infrastructure at scale.

Core Scientific has historically derived a substantial portion of its revenue from mining digital assets, but it has gradually shifted toward offering infrastructure services. The Pecos project illustrates how miners are repurposing existing facilities to capitalize on the sustained demand for AI compute capabilities, even as the economics of mining face ongoing pressures.

Core Scientific shares have risen about 44% so far this year. Source: Yahoo Finance

Key takeaways

• Core Scientific aims to build a Pecos, Texas, data center campus with up to 1.5 GW gross capacity, roughly 1 GW of which could be leased to customers for AI workloads.
• About 300 MW of power previously used for Bitcoin mining at Pecos is being repurposed for data center operations, with the first data hall expected to deliver initial capacity in early 2027.
• The company has acquired over 200 acres in Pecos to support the build, and it has secured additional power contracts totaling about 600 MW when combined with existing arrangements.
• Financing support includes a $3.3 billion plan via senior secured notes due 2031, complemented by a $1 billion Morgan Stanley credit facility, signaling a broad push into AI-ready infrastructure across several states.

Core Scientific’s Pecos expansion: from mining to AI data centers

The Pecos plan represents a deliberate pivot from pure mining activity toward high-density AI compute, leveraging Core Scientific’s engineering expertise to design scalable, data-center-centric infrastructure. The company emphasized that the first data hall has progressed to vertical construction, with a timeline that anticipates initial capacity becoming operational in early 2027. The repurposing of roughly 300 MW of the site’s existing power load highlights a broader industry trend: crypto facilities are increasingly being repurposed to support AI workloads as demand for compute power grows beyond blockchain validation.

Adam Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of Core Scientific, underscored the strategic rationale, stating, “We continue to leverage our deep in-house expertise to differentiate how we build and scale next generation artificial intelligence infrastructure.” This sentiment reflects a broader industry push to convert crypto-era assets into flexible, AI-forward data centers capable of housing GPU-intensive workloads, training models, and running inference at scale.

The Pecos project also includes a furniture of land assets—Core Scientific has acquired more than 200 acres—to anchor long-term expansion, aligning with plans to deploy a significant amount of capacity in a single campus. The plan to carve out roughly 1 GW for leasing aligns with a perceived demand gap in premium AI compute space, particularly for operators seeking co-location and predictable power contracts.

Funding the buildout: debt, power, and land

Financing a multi-hundred-megawatt, multi-state data center push requires patient capital. Core Scientific’s plan to raise about $3.3 billion through senior secured notes due 2031 signals a move from opportunistic opportunism to a structured capital strategy designed to sustain multi-year construction, feed-in power capacity, and support ongoing operations as customers come online. This funding plan sits alongside a $1 billion Morgan Stanley credit facility announced earlier in the year, which the company described as part of its broader financing framework to accelerate data center development across Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma.

Power availability remains a central constraint in the AI-data-center equation. Core Scientific’s Pecos expansion hinges on securing reliable, scalable power amid a regional energy market that has historically supported large-scale computing deployments. The company’s additional 300 MW under contract with the local utility provider helps de-risk the project, but ongoing power planning and grid coordination will be critical as the campus scales toward 1.5 GW gross capacity.

Beyond Pecos, Core Scientific’s strategy includes pursuing further expansion via behind-the-meter solutions and additional land acquisitions to sustain a longer-term growth trajectory. The company’s move mirrors a broader trend among crypto miners: diversify revenue streams by converting facilities into data centers that can host AI workloads, a market dynamic that has attracted attention from investors seeking exposure to AI compute infrastructure without the volatility of mining cycles.

A broader AI-infrastructure shift in crypto-mining

Core Scientific is not alone in this pivot. The sector has seen several peers exploring revenue streams tied to AI compute and data-center capabilities alongside their mining operations. In February, MARA Holdings disclosed the acquisition of a 64% stake in Exaion, a French infrastructure company expanding into AI services, signaling a strategic move to broaden AI-focused offerings beyond traditional mining. The broader lineup of miners—Hive, Hut 8, TeraWulf and Iren—have also signaled and undertaken steps to repurpose mining facilities into data centers or AI-focused campuses as margins in mining tighten and AI workloads proliferate. MARA’s Exaion stake is a notable example of this trend.

Related developments in the energy-to-AI transition include the reported near-term sale of idle assets in the industrial sector. Alcoa is close to selling its Massena East smelter in upstate New York to NYDIG, a deal expected to close by mid-year, as the plant has remained idle since 2014 due to high energy costs and global competition. The move aligns with a broader wave of crypto miners seeking to anchor AI data-center capacity in repurposed industrial assets. Massena East and, earlier, Century Aluminum’s Hawesville smelter sale to TeraWulf for $200 million to be converted into a high-performance computing and AI facility illustrate this trend in action. Century Aluminum Hawesville was cited in industry reporting as part of the same wave of industrial-to-AI data-center conversions.

The confluence of higher AI compute demand, capital-intensive buildouts, and the repurposing of mining infrastructure suggests a structural shift in how crypto players engage with data center economics. The trend also dovetails with broader coverage of AI data-center backbones that quietly emerged from the crypto era, underscoring how the sector’s assets are being repurposed to power the next wave of digital infrastructure. CoreWeave and related reporting have underscored these dynamics for investors looking beyond immediate mining yields.

What to watch next

As Core Scientific advances toward its 2027 capacity milestone, investors and industry observers will be watching several key factors: the pace of vertical construction at Pecos, the timing and reliability of power deliveries, and whether the leasing demand materializes at the projected scale. The financing package will also come under scrutiny as proceeds are deployed across multiple sites, with the ability to meet debt obligations and service ongoing capital needs a critical consideration for lenders and future project partners.

Beyond Core Scientific, the sector’s AI-forward pivot remains under observation. The timing of AI deployment milestones at Exaion, the integration of repurposed mining facilities into AI data centers, and the long-term profitability of these ventures will shape how crypto miners position themselves in a world where AI infrastructure investment appears increasingly attractive to both developers and institutions.

Readers should monitor updates from Core Scientific as project approvals progress, as well as any additional capital-raising moves or land acquisitions that may signal further capacity expansion across the United States.