The Amsterdam-listed investment group took control of miner Genesis Digital Assets this summer and holds about 3.5 gigawatts of grid connections and planned data-center capacity. The raise values the group at €6.1 billion, about twice its June net assets even after adding the new money.
A European investment group betting that bitcoin mining sites are worth more as AI data centers has raised a large sum to make the conversion.
SWI Group said Monday it had raised about €800 million, or roughly $900 million, from institutional investors at what it called a €6.1 billion final valuation. The money will go toward expanding its data-center and AI computing capacity in Europe and the U.S. Its assets include the U.S. mining operations of Genesis Digital Assets, a bitcoin miner once linked to FTX.
The assets
SWI agreed in June to pay $500 million for a significant stake in Genesis Digital Assets and confirmed in August that it had taken control of the company, which has been renamed SWI Digital. SWI holds a controlling stake of about 70%. Genesis holds about 1.2 gigawatts of energized land and grid connections, according to SWI's latest report, mostly in the U.S., including several sites in Texas, plus facilities in Sweden.
SWI's European data center platform, AiOnX, is developing campuses in Ireland, the U.K., Denmark, Spain and Italy with about 2.3 gigawatts of planned capacity. One site has been secured by a large cloud tenant. Together the two platforms hold about 3.5 gigawatts. SWI describes its combined footprint as roughly 4 gigawatts, and says more than 80% of its capital is now allocated to digital infrastructure, a share it aims to raise above 90%.
"Power connectivity is the most valuable commodity in digital infrastructure today, and converting legacy cryptocurrency mining infrastructure to AI and high-performance computing is the best and highest use of these assets," founder Max-Hervé George said when the Genesis deal was announced.
The valuation
SWI reported a first-half profit of €631.6 million, mainly from the value it recognized on its Genesis investment. Its adjusted net asset value rose 53% in six months to €2.3 billion at June 30.
The new money equals about 35% of that June net asset value. Even adding the €800 million to June's figure gives about €3.1 billion, roughly half the €6.1 billion valuation attached to the raise. In March, Mr. George and an existing shareholder bought €260 million of new shares at €5.20 each, and the company says it has now raised more than €1 billion of equity since then.
The miner pivot
SWI is part of a broader shift among bitcoin miners with grid connections toward renting power and space to AI customers. As part of Monday's raise, some investors were granted options on their shares tied to equity-market milestones, the company said.
Market implications
One reading is that SWI holds scarce assets. Energized grid connections take years to secure, and capital to convert them may be the main constraint, which this raise addresses.
A second reading is that much of SWI's value rests on marks it set itself. Its first-half profit came largely from revaluing Genesis, conversion of mining sites to AI use is expensive and slow, and the raise was priced at about twice the group's net assets.
What to watch
The identity of the new investors and the milestones attached to their options, signed AI tenants for the former mining sites and SWI's next net asset value report will test the valuation.