MARA Holding’s expansion into AI and high-performance computing is expected to close in Q4, and comes amid a steep rise in Bitcoin mining difficulty. Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings is making its biggest AI play to date, signing a $168 million deal to buy a 64% stake in Exaion, a subsidiary of French state-owned Électricité de France, one of the world’s largest low-carbon energy producers. The agreement, announced on Tuesday, includes an option for MARA to raise its stake to 75% by 2027 with an additional $127 million investment, contingent on performance milestones. Exaion develops high-performance computing (HPC) data centers and provides AI and cloud infrastructure in partnership with the likes of AI heavyweight Nvidia and Big Four accounting firm Deloitte. Read more