Hut 8 announced Thursday that it has started generating revenue from its new GPU-as-a-service offering, which rents out GPU computing power to clients. The service, which supports high-performance tasks like AI processing, became fully operational with the launch of its first GPU system for an artificial intelligence cloud developer as the bitcoin miner seeks a strategic expansion beyond cryptocurrency mining.

Hut 8 (ticker HUT) has partnered with Hewlett Packard Enterprise and AdvizeX to design and launch a new computing cluster under its subsidiary, Highrise AI. The five-year partnership includes fixed infrastructure payments and a revenue-sharing agreement with the unnamed AI cloud developer.

Hut 8's GPUaaS cluster is hosted at a tier-three data center in Chicago and comprises multiple HPE Cray supercomputers powered by 1,000 NVIDIA H100 GPUs.

“The launch of our GPU-as-a-service vertical further diversifies our compute layer, which now spans AI compute, Bitcoin mining, and traditional cloud services,” said Hut 8 CEO Asher Genoot. “Consistent with our commitment to disciplined capital allocation, we believe a thoughtfully structured AI compute business will be accretive both financially and strategically and drive topline growth, revenue diversification, and long-term value creation.”

As with mining clusters, a computing cluster is a group of interconnected computers, known as nodes, that work together to perform complex tasks as if they were a single system. These nodes are typically linked through a high-speed network and share computational workloads to process large amounts of data or execute high-performance applications more efficiently.

A GPU cluster has multiple computers with powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) collaborating to perform intensive computations like machine learning, AI modeling or scientific simulations.

Hut 8, one of North America’s leading Bitcoin miners, is scaling its computing operations across energy-intensive technologies to enhance returns from its power assets and digital infrastructure. The company recently announced the expansion of its partnership with rig manufacturer Bitmain Technologies on a next-generation ASIC miner.

Back in June, Hut 8 entered into an agreement with a fund operated by Coatue Management to invest $150 million into the company through a convertible note. The move aimed to leverage Hut 8's ability to develop and operate complex energy infrastructure to address unmet demand and emerge as a leader in the AI infrastructure market.

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Jason is a U.S. news editor at The Block. He previously worked as a staff writer and later served as managing editor at Benzinga, a financial news and data company. He led Benzinga's daily markets coverage as well as the expansion of the outlet's cannabis, cryptocurrency and sports betting verticals. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Central Michigan University and resides in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan. Follow him on X @JasonShubnell.