Cipher Digital Expands Barber Lake Data Center Lease to 20 Years, Boosting Contracted Revenue to Over $9 Billion

Cipher Digital Inc. has significantly extended the contracted life of its Barber Lake data center in Colorado City, Texas, announcing a series of agreements that stretch the facility's lease term from 10 years to 20 years and lift total contracted revenue from $3.8 billion to more than $9 billion. The move underscores the intensifying demand for long-duration, hyperscale computing infrastructure as artificial intelligence workloads reshape the data center landscape.

The centerpiece of the transaction is an amendment to Cipher's existing lease with Fluidstack, paired with a binding commitment from a leading AI lab to lease the facility for an additional 10-year term once the original Barber Lake Lease concludes. That incremental commitment, which will be governed by a separate lease with economic terms substantially consistent with the existing agreement, is expected to generate approximately $5.2 billion in additional contracted revenue.

In connection with change orders and evolving tenant requirements, the lease amendment establishes a phased delivery schedule for the campus, with individual data halls expected to come online between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027. Rent will commence for each hall as it is delivered, with the first rent payment anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2026. Cipher said it remains on track with the revised schedule.

The amendment also introduces a cost reimbursement framework among Cipher, Fluidstack and the AI lab. Under the arrangement, Cipher will absorb the first $359.3 million of costs exceeding the initial budgeted amount under the Barber Lake Lease, while the tenant will reimburse the company over the aggregate 20-year term for 50% of any costs above that threshold. The reimbursement will be paid as additional rent and structured to provide Cipher with a contracted rate of return on the reimbursed amounts.

“Extending Barber Lake’s contracted life from 10 to 20 years and adding approximately $5.2 billion of contracted revenue reflects the enduring value of the infrastructure we're building,” said Tyler Page, Chief Executive Officer of Cipher. “Barber Lake was designed as a long-lived, mission-critical asset, and securing a firm commitment that extends well beyond the original lease term demonstrates the long-term utility and strategic relevance of the campus. We believe this transaction underscores the quality and enduring strength of our sites, as well as the durability of demand for hyperscale computing capacity.”

The deal highlights a broader trend in which data center operators are locking in longer lease terms to match the multi-year investment horizons of AI developers and cloud providers. As power sourcing, construction costs and land availability become more constrained, securing long-term commitments from anchor tenants has become a critical differentiator for developers seeking to finance and scale industrial-scale campuses. Cipher, which positions itself as an HPC-focused development platform built for hyperscale, said the transaction reflects the quality of its sites and the durability of demand for high-performance computing capacity.