Although the Helios computing facility north of Dickens, Texas, has been cranking out cryptocurrency since its construction in early 2022, few local residents have grasped the concept, even if they’d heard the term.
Now, as Galaxy Digital begins an ambitious shift in focus that will involve changing out every computer processor in the plant, locals are certainly becoming familiar with the new one: AI.
Following its third-quarter earnings call, released last week, Galaxy representatives announced a non-binding agreement that, when finalized, will convert all 800 megawatts of its computing power to support HPC, or highperformance computing, hosting services. The Helios campus will become the kind of facility that artificial intelligence and cloud computing require, through an arrangement with a U.S.based hyperscaler.
Whether or not you grasp exactly what AI is or does, it’s happening all around you. High-performance computing is bringing jobs and profits to rural areas worldwide.
While details have yet to be set, said Galaxy spokesperson Michael Wursthorn on a phone call with The Texas Spur, the deal will require Galaxy to make further significant investments in Helios to support a major retrofit and expansion of the facility. “That’ll mean adding more local jobs to support Galaxy’s growing team at Helios,” said Wursthorn.
The identity of the hyperscaler tenant hasn’t yet been released, either. Hyperscalers have large data centers around the world with thousands of servers and other equipment; they provide a flexible environment for developing and deploying new technologies like artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Among the most widely known are Amazon, Google, Microsoft, IBM and Alibaba.
“We’re very excited about what we’re building at Helios in Dickens County,” said Wursthorn. “We truly think it’s a one-ofa- kind asset in the U.S., and this deal is an affirmation of that.”
Helios is a 125,000 -square-foot Bitcoin mining facility designed and constructed by Argo Blockchain, which began mining operations began in May 2022. As of December 2022 the facility is owned and operated by Galaxy Digital Holdings.
