Bitcoin mining infrastructure firm Compute North raises $385 million in equity and debt funding

Compute North, a bitcoin mining infrastructure firm that provides equipment hosting services within its data centers, has raised $385 million in equity and debt funding.

The equity part of the funding, worth $85 million, was co-led by Mercuria, a global energy and commodities trading company, and Generate Capital, an infrastructure investment firm. Other investors, including National Grid Partners, the venture arm of National Grid — one of the largest energy companies in the world — also joined the equity funding.

The debt portion of the funding, some $300 million, was also provided by Generate Capital. Compute North calls the equity part of the funding its Series C round and the overall funding as a growth capital round.

With fresh capital in hand, Minnesota-based Compute North plans to open new hosting facilities in the US, including in Nebraska, North Carolina, and Texas. Dave Perrill, founder and CEO of Compute North, declined to share how many new facilities the firm plans to open and what would be their total capacity but said there are several facilities at various stages of development.

"We plan to share more information about each facility as it becomes operational," he added.

Last July, Perrill told The Block that Compute North has five facilities under construction that are planned to be operational by the end of the second quarter of 2022. As for the firm's capacity expansion plans, Perrill at the time said Compute North plans to increase its capacity by 1.2 gigawatts.

The firm's total capacity at the time was over 100 megawatts. Its current capacity remains unknown, but Compute North claims that its mining facilities are more energy-efficient, meaning it leverages sustainable power resources such as wind and solar.

Compute North's funding comes amid the US's rising share in the bitcoin mining market. The country is now the largest contributor to the Bitcoin hash rate after China's mining crackdown last year, with a 35% share.

Perrill said there is "unprecedented demand" for computing infrastructure with a focus on sustainability, and Compute North wants to be at the forefront of leading that transition. "This new round of funding will enable us to execute on that plan and innovate through 2022 and beyond," he added.

Compute North's total funding to date is unknown. Last year around this time, the firm raised $25 million in equity and debt financing.