Bitdeer, Canaan Mint Hedges Against Crypto Volatility In AI

Key Takeaways:

Bitdeer said it was picked as a preferred cloud services provider for artificial intelligence cloud services powered by an Nvidia chip
Cryptocurrency mining machine maker Canaan is looking to create a separate unit for its business making chips for AI applications

By Warren Yang

What do you do with your business model after the latest hot trend in cryptocurrencies goes cold? You turn to the next hot area, in this case artificial intelligence (AI). At least that’s the latest approach coming from two of the crypto-related companies we follow, Caanan Inc. (NASDAQ: CAN) and Bitdeer Technologies Holding Co. (NASDAQ: BTDR).

After getting burned by gyrations in digital asset prices, the latest forays by each of these companies looks reasonably prudent. Such moves may even look relatively moderate compared with drastic business transformations many Chinese ventures often undergo when their original businesses come under fire. 

Last Thursday, Bitdeer, which operates a cryptocurrency mining platform, said it will launch an AI cloud service with big-name chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), arguably the hottest name right now in AI microchips. Under the collaboration, Bitdeer will be a preferred cloud service provider in Nvidia’s partner network, meaning Bitdeer’s Singapore data center will become one of the first providers of AI cloud services powered by an Nvidia product.

And in its latest quarterly earnings report released two days earlier, Canaan, one of the world’s largest bitcoin mining machine makers, briefly mentioned that it’s working on an internal reorganization to make its AI business an independent operation. On the company’searnings call its management elaborated, saying it is seeking to create a separate AI unit that could even attract its own financing. In addition to its core business making crypto mining machines, Canaan also makes chips for AI applications.

“Given the significant changes in the AI industry over the past few months, we have been strategically discussing the future of our AI business,” Canaan CEO Zhang Nangeng said. “In light of our current industry and the marketing environment, we believe that the development of our AI business should take a more defined, independent, and long-term direction.”

The two companies’ efforts to…