CoreWeave, an AI cloud infrastructure provider, has reopened negotiations to purchase Core Scientific. This comes after an initial $1 billion offer was rejected.
Renewal of Negotiations
On June 26, the Wall Street Journal reported that CoreWeave, backed by Nvidia and powering clients like OpenAI and Microsoft, has resumed negotiations to acquire Bitcoin miner Core Scientific.
The discussions follow nearly a year after Core Scientific's board dismissed CoreWeave's initial $5.75-per-share offer as "significantly undervaluing" the company. The latest negotiation terms remain undisclosed, but market reactions were immediate, with Core Scientific's stock surging 28%, bringing its valuation close to $4 billion.
Strategic Importance for CoreWeave
CoreWeave's renewed pursuit of Core Scientific appears to focus on securing the infrastructure needed for the AI race.
Fresh off a $1.5 billion IPO and partnerships with Microsoft and OpenAI, CoreWeave is locked in competition for computing power against giants like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. Unlike those, CoreWeave does not own vast data center networks; that is where Core Scientific comes into play.
What Does Core Scientific Gain?
For Core Scientific, the timing of these negotiations could not be more strategic. The company emerged from bankruptcy in early 2024 with a leaner operation and a stronger balance sheet, but Bitcoin's halving in April reduced mining rewards, tightening margins across the industry.
While some miners are selling assets or pivoting to AI hosting piecemeal, Core Scientific's management has held out for a bigger play.
CoreWeave's return to negotiations highlights a broader realignment in digital infrastructure. The boundary between Bitcoin mining and AI computing is blurring, as both technologies rely on the same limited resource: energy sources.
