By Staff Writer
Video-sharing platform Rumble has taken another step toward building out its AI and infrastructure capabilities with the announcement of a business combination agreement to acquire Northern Data, a European leader in high-performance computing (HPC) and AI infrastructure.
The move follows Rumble’s August 2025 disclosure that it was exploring a transaction with Northern Data in partnership with stablecoin issuer Tether. According to Reuters, the deal is worth around $767 million and will be executed as a stock transaction.
Tether, which invested $775 million in Rumble in late 2024, has further backed this move with a $150 million GPU service deal and a $100 million advertising commitment related to the acquisition. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino emphasized the partnership’s shared vision of freedom-focused platforms, stating, “Our investment in Rumble is about building infrastructure that protects freedoms. We share the same vision of creating open platforms as a counterweight to centralized, censor-prone Big Tech.”
Rumble’s CEO Chris Pavlovski echoed this sentiment, framing the acquisition as a step toward creating a privacy-respecting alternative to legacy tech giants. “The addition of GPUs and data centers to our existing video and cloud portfolio would just be the start. Our vision is to continue building out this ecosystem… all in the name of freedom, privacy, independence and resilience,” he said.
The acquisition also reflects a growing trend among crypto companies aggressively moving into the AI space. Chainalysis, for example, bought AI fraud detection firm Alterya for $150 million, while Bitcoin mining firm MARA Holdings acquired a 64% stake in AI cloud provider Exaion for $168 million earlier this year.
