MARA Holdings to Spend $168M on French AI Data Firm in Bold Expansion Move

MARA Holdings eyes $168M Exaion deal to expand into AI infrastructure and diversify beyond Bitcoin mining operations.

Fridah Kangai
August 13, 2025
11:14 am

Fridah Kangai

Fridah Kangai is a dedicated crypto journalist with a sharp eye for market trends, blockchain innovation, and digital asset movements. She specializes in breaking down complex topics into clear, engaging stories for both seasoned investors and curious newcomers. With a passion for decentralization and a pulse on the ever-evolving crypto space, Fridah delivers timely, accurate, and insightful coverage. Her work bridges the gap between technology and everyday understanding in the world of cryptocurrency.

MARA plans $168M move into French AI data infrastructure.
Exaion deal could boost MARA’s stake to 75 percent.
Shift from mining to AI aims to secure future growth.

MARA Holdings is preparing to expand beyond Bitcoin mining with a significant investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure, according to Bloomberg. The company aims to purchase a 64 percent stake in French data center operator Exaion from EDF Pulse Ventures for $168 million in cash.

Exaion manages advanced data centers and offers cloud and AI infrastructure solutions. MARA will focus on AI inference, a field of AI data processing with typically lower operational expenses than other fields.

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Strategic Shift Toward AI Infrastructure and Expansion Potential

The agreement also includes a clause allowing MARA to increase its share in Exaion to 75 percent at an extra cost of $127 million. The French company would retain a minority share, and EDF would have a connection with its initial sponsor.

Other mining firms such as Core Scientific and Hut 8 Corp. are focused on hyperscale client infrastructure. MARA is, however, shifting its services to AI-oriented computing services, given a broader industry trend toward high-performance computing after the fourth Bitcoin halving.

MARA has also been beefing up its Bitcoin treasury, recently receiving approximately $940.5 million to buy more BTC, which gives it more power in the digital asset market.

Strong Financial Performance Supports New Direction

The company has recorded a high performance increase. MARA earned a total of $808.2 million in the second quarter, compared to a net loss of approximately $200 million in the same quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA increased over 1,000 percent year-on-year as operations improved and market conditions were more favorable.

MARA is the largest market-capitalized bitcoin miner and the second corporate owner of Bitcoin after MicroStrategy. The acquisition of Exaion, currently under consideration, should help it diversify its portfolio and enhance its role in emerging technologies.

If the deal is successful, it would be a milestone in MARA Holdings’ history. The use of AI infrastructure with Bitcoin mining may create stability and potential growth in the volatile industry.

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