Core Scientific (CORZ) reported a first-quarter net loss of $347.2 million, even as revenue climbed to $115.2 million, underscoring the financial strain of its pivot from bitcoin mining to AI-focused data centers. The company sold 2,385 bitcoins for $208.3 million during the quarter, using the proceeds to fund capital expenditures and other cash needs.
The bitcoin sales followed a pattern seen across the mining sector, where companies are liquidating their crypto reserves to finance the construction of high-performance computing facilities. Core Scientific also wrote down $266.5 million of mining-related assets, reflecting the ongoing shift in its business model.
Bond Sale and AI Investment
To support its transformation, Core Scientific closed a $3.3 billion offering of 7.75% senior secured notes. Proceeds from that bond sale will go toward data center development and repaying a $1 billion term loan facility. The move signals the company’s aggressive push into AI infrastructure, a strategy that has drawn both investor interest and scrutiny.
One notable outcome: colocation revenue surged to $77.5 million from $8.6 million a year earlier, making it Core Scientific’s largest revenue source. In contrast, crypto mining revenue fell sharply to $30.1 million from $67.2 million, driven by a 45% drop in bitcoin mined and an 18% decline in the average bitcoin price.
Operational Scale and Customer Concentration
At the end of March, the company operated 10 data centers across seven U.S. states, with about 1.9 GW of gross utility power capacity and 1.3 GW of leasable customer power capacity. Its first high-density colocation contract with CoreWeave was later expanded to 590 MW of leased customer power capacity.
A February 2025 expansion increased CoreWeave’s contracted infrastructure with Core Scientific to about 590 MW across six sites, lifting projected revenue to $10.2 billion over 12-year terms. However, customer concentration remains a risk. One colocation customer generated 67% of total revenue in the first quarter, up from 11% a year earlier.
Investor Scrutiny and Financial Position
The AI pivot has been under investor scrutiny since CoreWeave’s failed roughly $9 billion all-stock takeover attempt. Core Scientific emerged from Chapter 11 in 2024 and has since become a prominent example of bitcoin miners leveraging their power access into contracted AI infrastructure revenue.
The company ended March with $1.04 billion of liquidity, including $1.01 billion of cash and $37.3 million of bitcoin. Still, the steep Q1 loss and heavy reliance on a single customer suggest that the road ahead remains uncertain, even as the company tries to reposition itself.
