Wall Street can't stop bidding up this Australian success story. Yet on the ASX, most investors remain unaware it even exists.
Iren Ltd (NASDAQ: IREN) has seen its share price explode by more than 110% in the past month. Six months out, the gain is even more eye-catching: more than 535%.
So what's behind the sudden rush of enthusiasm?
Powering up with cheap energy
At the heart of Iren's business model is a simple but powerful idea: secure the cheapest possible renewable energy and use it to run power-dense data centres.
The company began by utilising their data centres to mine Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC), a business where the cost of electricity is a defining competitive edge. With an average cost of just US$0.033 per kilowatt-hour, Iren is among the lowest-cost operators globally. By locating facilities in areas with stranded or oversupplied power, such as hydro-rich British Columbia or wind-heavy Texas, the company has built structural advantages that rivals struggle to match.
This model has created a profitable foundation that now funds its next chapter.
Pivot to AI cloud infrastructure
Iren is reinvesting Bitcoin mining profits to scale its AI cloud business. The strategy is to self-fund the construction of next-generation, liquid-cooled data centres and fill them with Nvidia's latest GPUs.
- Today, Iren operates around 1,900 GPUs.
- By December 2025, that number is expected to grow to 10,900, including thousands of Blackwell B200 and B300 units.
- The company ultimately sees a path to 20,000 GPUs, and longer term, up to 60,000.
Co-founder and co-CEO Daniel Roberts highlighted in August: "Demand for our AI Cloud is accelerating as we prepare for the delivery of approximately 9,000 Nvidia Blackwell GPUs over the coming months."
That demand is evident across the industry. Microsoft recently signed a major AI data centre deal with Nebius, and Oracle disclosed its own AI cloud backlog has quadrupled year over year. Investors see Iren's strategy, combining low-cost power with a fast-growing AI business, as a way to capture that surge in demand.
Analysts turn bullish
Another spark for the share price came this week when three analysts weighed in positively.
- Research firm Arete initiated coverage with a buy rating and a US$78 target, praising management's self-funding strategy.
- Roth/MKM more than doubled its target to US$82, while Bernstein lifted its target to US$75, from just US$20 previously.
The analysts noted Iren's clever reinvestment of Bitcoin proceeds into AI capacity, alongside an upgrade of its mining hardware, as factors that could strengthen fundamentals further.
Foolish Takeaway
With a double in its share price in a month, sentiment around Iren has flipped decisively. The company's unique mix of low-cost renewable power, Bitcoin mining cash flow, and rapidly scaling AI cloud infrastructure has investors paying close attention.
For Australian investors, it's a reminder that some of the country's most ambitious tech success stories don't always trade on the ASX. Whether Iren becomes the next household name like Atlassian or Canva remains to be seen, but right now, it's one of the most remarkable Aussie growth stories playing out on Wall Street.
