When Australian investors think of great local technology success stories, names like Atlassian and Canva spring to mind. Both built world-class businesses but chose to list in the United States rather than Australia.
Another homegrown company quietly following this path is Iren Ltd (NASDAQ: IREN). And lately, its share price performance has been anything but quiet.
At the time of writing, Iren shares have surged more than 78% in less than a month. Zoom out six months, and the stock is up an eye-watering 385%.
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What Iren does
Iren operates at the intersection of two of the hottest trends in global markets: Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and artificial intelligence (AI).
The business started as a Bitcoin miner but has deliberately positioned itself to take advantage of the AI boom. Its operations are built around high-performance data centres, which can either secure the Bitcoin blockchain or rent out computing capacity to companies building AI systems.
Importantly, Iren does this while maintaining a commitment to 100% renewable energy. That means its vast computing operations, which consume significant electricity, are powered by clean energy sources, setting it apart from many peers.
This dual approach of mining Bitcoin and powering AI cloud services has made Iren one of the more unique tech-infrastructure plays on Wall Street.
A story of two Australian brothers
Iren's origins trace back to Sydney-based brothers Daniel and Will Roberts, both of whom worked at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) before deciding to strike out on their own. They saw an opportunity to build a new kind of infrastructure business: large-scale, power-dense data centres designed for Bitcoin mining and, increasingly, artificial intelligence.
Rather than build in expensive capital cities, the brothers donned backpacks and travelled across Europe, Canada, and the US to find the best opportunities. Their mission was simple: tap into stranded or wasted renewable energy — power that would otherwise go unused — and turn it into a competitive advantage.
That approach led them to places like British Columbia, where pulp and paper mills had shut down, leaving behind communities with excess hydroelectric power. Iren bought and repurposed facilities then put downward pressure on electricity costs by using power that was otherwise going to waste. The same strategy took them to Texas, where oversupplied wind and solar farms were bottlenecked by limited transmission lines.
By focusing on locations with abundant, underutilised clean energy, the Roberts brothers built Iren into a company that could mine Bitcoin cheaply and sustainably, while laying the groundwork for AI and high-performance computing.
Recent financial results
Two legs are supporting Iren's positive momentum: its profitable Bitcoin business and the rapid growth of its AI cloud operations. Together, they are reshaping the company's revenue mix, making it less exposed to Bitcoin cycles and positioning it for multi-year growth.
- Revenue: US$501 million in FY25, up 168% year on year.
- Net income: US$86.9 million, swinging from a US$28.9 million loss in FY24.
- Operating Earnings (Adjusted EBITDA): US$278.2 million, up nearly 400% year on year.
- Bitcoin mining: 50 EH/s of computing power across 810 megawatts of operating data centre capacity. With power costs averaging just US$0.033 per kilowatt-hour, Iren is one of the lowest-cost producers globally.
- AI cloud growth: From 1,900 GPUs today, management expects to deploy 10,900 Nvidia GPUs by December 2025. The fleet includes next-generation Blackwell chips (B200s and B300s), with utilisation near 100% and margins in the high 90s.
These results highlight a company in rapid transformation. What began as a Bitcoin miner has evolved into a dual-engine infrastructure play, combining cash flow from Bitcoin with a fast-growing AI data centre business. The optionality of its power platform, coupled with liquid-cooled, power-dense data centres, gives Iren the flexibility to allocate resources where returns are highest.
Just as importantly, its financing structure has limited dilution. By securing non-dilutive leases covering 100% of GPU costs, Iren can expand capacity without weighing on shareholders. Add in Nvidia Preferred Partner status, and Iren's path to securing supply in a constrained GPU market looks solid.
Foolish Takeaway
Iren may still fly under the radar for many local investors, but it represents a rare Australian success story playing out on a global stage. With its shares up more than 385% in six months, momentum is firmly on its side.
Whether it can continue to grow into the next Aussie household name remains to be seen. However, one thing is clear: Iren has demonstrated that Australian entrepreneurs can build world-class tech companies that thrive in the most competitive global markets.
