It was during the first half of 2024 that press reports first surfaced to suggest that Bitcoin pioneer TeraWulf was seeking to make a bold strategic pivot into AI and high-power compute. Along the front lines of this move stood Patrick Fleury, TeraWulf’s action-oriented CFO, whose short tenure at the firm thus far has been notable for its aggressive cost-cutting measures and bold efforts to address the company’s debt. Moreover, Fleury’s focus on the optimization of the cash flow from TeraWulf’s Bitcoin-mining operations has proved crucial in stabilizing the company during turbulent market conditions.
Read MeIt is perhaps surprising to learn—given his early success as a CFO—that Fleury had not always envisioned himself in this role. Having spent 16 years as a strategic investor, he had been content in working from the sidelines, guiding companies through investments and strategy. Becoming a public-company CFO had never been on his radar. Still, when TeraWulf needed a leader to guide it through significant challenges, his deep understanding of financial markets and investment strategy turned out to make him the ideal choice.
Fleury’s unique investor mind-set has been instrumental in charting TeraWulf’s new growth trajectory. His ability to engage investors, simplify complex industry dynamics, and clearly demonstrate “value” has been key to gaining investor buy-in for TeraWulf’s new direction. Moreover, his experience on the buy-side has provided him with valuable insight into what investors look for—transparency, potential for growth, and clear financial discipline.
This ability to communicate effectively, coupled with his strategic acumen, has allowed Fleury to lay the groundwork for TeraWulf’s shift into AI and high-power compute. By looking at decisions through an investor’s lens, he has garnered the ability to build trust with stakeholders while at the same time positioning TeraWulf as a forward-thinking player in the rapidly evolving AI and data center sectors. Fortunately for his firm, Fleury’s financial leadership continues to drive TeraWulf toward a promising future in these high-growth markets.
“There is no substitute for years of hard work and taking the time to build a strong analytical foundation from which to launch your career. I’m often reminded of the famous quote by Zig Ziglar: ‘Success occurs when opportunity meets preparation.’ Paying it forward with years of experience surrounded by teams of intelligent and diverse people makes the journey more rewarding than the destination. Manage your own career, as no one will do it for you. And always, always remain true to your core values: kindness, fairness, generosity, thoughtfulness, and intellectual curiosity.” –Patrick Fleury, CFO, TeraWulf
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CFOTL: What are your priorities as a CFO over the next 12 months?
Fleury: It’s very simple: We are making a big move to really diversify our business into AI and high-power compute. The DNA of TeraWulf is that of an infrastructure power business—it’s not defined by Bitcoin-mining, which we have been doing only because this has been the highest and best use of our electrons.
We believe that today and tomorrow our greatest opportunity lies in co-location capacity, so we will be building for and then hosting some of the largest AI and high-power compute customers in the world, with an eye toward long-term contracts. These are the hyperscalers of the “Magnificent Seven”—Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and so on—plus others who are just into building big businesses. One of our peers just signed a long-term off-take with CoreWeave, an up-and-coming AI and high-power compute company, and there are dozens and dozens of other possible partnerships out there.
Read MoreAs Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, has said, this space will host the next Industrial Revolution. Within 5 to 10 years, AI will be pervasive in every part of our lives. Right now, we are at the point of this technological spear, but what most folks don’t realize—but I think are starting to—is that this transformation will require a massive amount of energy. Just one ChatGPT search requires 10 times the amount of energy used by a typical Google word search, and this one example is just the tip of the iceberg, right? There will be AI uses in healthcare to analyze MRIs, for instance. AI will literally be in every part of our lives.
So, this is where we are moving our company. Within 10 years at most, we will be one of the largest public data center companies in the U.S. because we can offer a tremendous amount of low-carbon, low-price power—which is exactly what AI and high-power compute operators need. We are building the data centers of the future to host these clients at our sites. This is where we are headed. During the next 6 to 12 months, we will be announcing and executing contracts with these customers, as we continue every single day to build out the capacity at our sites.
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TeraWulf | www.terawulf.com | Easton, MD