Issue #18: From Bitcoin Mining to AI with Northern Data

Transitioning from Bitcoin mining to AI is practically a meme at this point.

But just because it’s memetic does not mean all those choosing to make the leap are equal. While experience deploying miners at scale is hugely valuable, ASICs =/= GPUs. The economics, power, and cooling requirements are all fundamentally different.

You can’t just turn the GPUs on and wait for the money to roll in.

One European player understands this.

Once a major name in Bitcoin mining, they’ve scaled up through strategic acquisitions and well-timed pivots. Starting with GPU-heavy blockchain infrastructure, they’ve moved into AI compute as the market took off. Now, they’re positioning themselves as one of Europe's most ambitious AI infrastructure providers.

Today, they run one of Europe’s largest AI cloud platforms and continue to scale with high-density, liquid-cooled data centres across multiple continents.

And with AI training workloads growing and inference demand set to explode, they’re betting that sustainably powered, GPU-enabled HPC will be the foundation of AI’s future.

Who are they?

Northern Data.

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Company Background

Northern Data didn’t start as an AI cloud company.

It built its foundation in HPC for blockchain, launching as Northern Bitcoin AG in 2018. With Bitcoin mining at the core of its business, the company focused on sustainability, branding itself as the “Green Bitcoin” company and operating mining farms powered by renewable energy.

In 2019, it merged with Whinstone US, a major American Bitcoin mining firm, expanding its footprint across the US and Europe.

By 2020, it rebranded as Northern Data Group, shifting focus beyond cryptocurrency into broader HPC applications.

The AI pivot began in 2021 and 2022, with acquisitions that expanded its compute capacity. They bought Decentric Europe, acquiring 223,000 GPUs from Block.one. Then they bought Bitfield N.V., adding 33,000 of the latest ASIC miners.

These moves positioned Northern Data as a major infrastructure player, ready to serve industries beyond crypto.

By 2023 and 2024, the company went all-in on AI.

They secured NVIDIA Preferred Cloud Provider status, later upgrading to Elite Partner Status. With this new badge of honour, Northern Data acquired NVIDIA H100 GPUs, followed by H200 chips, making it the first European provider to offer them. At the same time, they expanded their data centre footprint, upgrading the Pittsburgh facility, acquiring a 300MW data centre site in Corpus Christi, Texas, and launching new liquid-cooled infrastructure to maximise efficiency.

Concurrently, they launched Taiga Cloud, the AI-focused cloud division, offering GPU-compute at scale.

With Taiga Cloud being Europe’s largest AI cloud platform, Northern Data aims to compete with AWS, Azure, and GCP in the AI arms race.

Executive Team

Northern Data’s leadership blends deep expertise in high-performance computing, cloud infrastructure, and capital markets strategy.

• Aroosh Thillainathan (Founder, CEO & Chairman): Built Northern Data from Bitcoin mining into a major AI infrastructure player. Previously founded Whinstone Group before merging with Northern Bitcoin in 2019.

• Elliot Jordan (CFO): Former CFO at Farfetch, led its successful NYSE IPO. Brings extensive financial and capital markets experience.

• Rudolf Haas (Chief Legal Officer): Former partner at King & Wood Mallesons, specialising in financing and capital markets.

• Adam Low (Chief Product & Technology Officer): Nearly 30 years in tech leadership, previously CPTO at Zivver, focused on scaling AI infrastructure.

• John Hoffman (COO): Joined in 2025 from RBC Capital Markets, where he advised on over 200 IPOs and $50B in capital raises.

The Edge

Northern Data’s strategy is built on scalability, sustainability, and enterprise AI infrastructure.

• Taiga Cloud: A dedicated AI cloud platform offering NVIDIA GPUs with InfiniBand networking. Positioned as a high-performance alternative to US-based hyperscalers.

• Carbon-Neutral AI Compute: Northern Data sources power from renewables where possible, including hydropower and carbon-free energy sources.

• AI Accelerator Programme: Select startups gain access to H100 GPUs, alongside mentorship from industry leaders, including HPE.

• Expanding US & EU Data Centres: New 120MW-180MW Georgia facility, a 300MW Texas site, and a growing presence in Pittsburgh and Sweden.

Check out the Northern Data Media Room for the latest updates:

Recent Moves

• New COO Appointment: John Hoffman joins to lead operations and drive global capital markets expansion.

• Major US Data Centre Expansion: Announced a 120MW-180MW AI data centre in Maysville, Georgia, creating 100 new jobs.

• AI Accelerator Startups Announced: Five startups selected for Northern Data’s AI Accelerator, gaining access to NVIDIA GPUs and mentoring from HPE.

• NVIDIA H200 GPUs Secured: Became the first European cloud provider to offer NVIDIA’s latest AI chips.

• Exploring Peak Mining Sale: Looking to offload its Bitcoin mining business to focus exclusively on AI.

What’s Next?

Northern Data built its name in crypto. Now, it’s betting everything on AI.

This isn’t just a pivot but a necessity. High-performance computing has moved beyond blockchain. Hyperscalers are locking in enterprise AI clients. Frontier labs are building their own clouds. The real demand? AI training at scale today, followed by the surge of inference and enterprise AI deployment. Northern Data sees it coming.

The Peak Mining divestment, therefore, isn’t just a shift in focus; it’s a signal.

Full commitment to AI.

Scaling Taiga Cloud. Expanding AI colocation. Securing NVIDIA’s most powerful chips before competitors do.

The NVIDIA H100 rollout laid the foundation. H200 and GB200 will define what comes next.

Northern Data has the hardware, the capital, and the experience.

Now it has to prove it can turn that into market dominance.

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