Tether Expands Into AI Alongside Northern Data in $427M Investment for Nvidia Chips

In recent months, Northern Group, a major shareholder in Tether's subsidiary Damoon, demonstrated a substantial commitment by investing $427 million in Nvidia chips, specifically tailored for generative AI cloud computing. Tether, a well-known provider of stablecoins, disclosed its venture into the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) through a subsidiary jointly owned with Northern Data Group (NB2), a company that specializes in bitcoin mining and data cloud services.

The acquisition of a controlling interest in Damoon Designated Activity by Frankfurt-based Northern Data in July marked a pivotal development. This move enabled the acquisition of Nvidia graphic processing units (GPUs) valued at nearly 400 million euros ($427 million), a fact detailed in an official press release. The integration of these newly acquired chips into Northern Data’s Taiga Cloud, a cloud service projected to be accessible to customers in the latter part of the fourth quarter, is underway.

This strategic shift underscores Tether's ongoing commitment to diversify its operations beyond its primary focus on stablecoins. With an impressive $83 billion USDT currently in circulation, the company has embarked on substantial investments in BTC mining endeavors in South America and initiated a payment processing project in Georgia this year. However, Tether has faced scrutiny within the crypto community concerning perceived transparency issues related to its stablecoin reserves and various investment and lending practices.

Northern Data, a publicly traded data company, has successfully transitioned from cryptocurrency mining to supplying computational power for AI-driven data processing. This transformation was reflected in a 2.7% surge in the company's shares on Thursday. Paolo Ardoino, Tether's chief technology officer, expressed enthusiasm about the investment in Northern Data Group, regarding it as a significant stride into the cutting-edge domain of technology. Tether has explicitly stated that this investment does not have any bearing on the backing reserves of its stablecoins.

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