On Monday, HIVE Digital Technologies Ltd. (TSX:HIVE)(NASDAQ:HIVE) made a big announcement, as it continues to make a massive pivot from its cryptocurrency roots into the artificial intelligence infrastructure (AI) space. The Canadian digital infrastructure group recently unveiled that its subsidiary, Buzz High Performance Computing, plans to build one of the nation's largest AI data centers in the Greater Toronto Area.
The new facility, which is also known as an AI gigafactory, is projected to boast a massive 320 megawatts of power capacity. Once it's fully operational, it will be able to house over 100,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) dedicated to training and running complex AI models. Buzz has already secured a 25-acre site for a combined $58 million.
With a total capital investment estimated at $3.5 billion Canadian dollars, construction is geared toward a launch in the second half of 2027. Strategically located in the Toronto-Waterloo innovation corridor, the facility will tap into Ontario’s clean energy grid and utilize water-free, closed-loop cooling systems.
Investors responded enthusiastically to the announcement, with the stock soaring 29% on the day. With the boost, the stock is now up an impressive 67% over the past 12 months. For growth investors wanting exposure to AI data centers with a focus on the Canadian market, HIVE can be an intriguing option to consider. At a market cap of around $1 billion, it's a fairly small stock in the AI data center space, and it could have considerable upside in the long run.
However, there's inevitably going to be plenty of volatility with the stock, as HIVE still struggles with profitability. The stock's future performance will likely depend heavily on investor sentiment for AI and data centers.
