Core Scientific vs IREN Limited
The landlord of the AI builders — a second blitz after Chapter 11. The crossover quarter: AI cloud passed mining — $13B in contracts, $137M in revenue.
IREN Limited by 4
| Item | Max | Core Scientific | IREN Limited |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blitz Index total | / 100 | 55 | 59 |
| Grade | — | C | C |
| A · Speed | / 25 | 19 | 18 |
| B · Moat | / 60 | 35 | 36 |
| C · Creative destruction | / 15 | 10 | 11 |
| D · Demerits | / 30 | -9 | -6 |
The success line is 65. Demerits (section D) are subtracted; a demerit total of 15 or more flags a company for BlitzFailing watch. Scores as of the 2026 Q4 review.
Verdict — business structure only
IREN leads (59 vs 55) with a slightly stronger moat (36 vs 35) and creative destruction (11 vs 10), and lighter demerits (-6 vs -9). Both are Bitcoin miners pivoting to AI colocation, but IREN's AI Cloud grew +687% YoY and its power pipeline (5GW+) is sold out, while Core Scientific's colocation revenue grew +1,194% YoY from a small base. Core Scientific's demerits (-9) are heavier (Chapter 11 history, negative equity, 83% single-customer concentration in CoreWeave) than IREN's (-6) (capital commitments, dilution). The structural difference is that Core Scientific is a landlord leasing to AI builders while IREN is becoming a neocloud operator itself.
Key figures
| Core Scientific | Figure |
|---|---|
| Colocation revenue | $136.7M (+1,194% YoY) |
| Gross margin | 42.7% |
| Debt | $7.68B |
| IREN Limited | Figure |
|---|---|
| AI Cloud growth | +687% YoY |
| Capital commitments | $13.8B |
Key figures are from the companies' published score files (the scorecard's English summary). A figure is shown only where the score file states it.
Full scorecards: Core Scientific — Blitz Index 55 · IREN Limited — Blitz Index 59
Run your own pairing: open this pair in the interactive compare tool, or pick any two of the 157 scored companies.
How to read this
Both companies passed the same two gates before scoring: real product-market traction (G1), and a ten-year market ceiling of at least ten times current revenue (G2). The Blitz Index then grades speed (25), moat (60) and creative destruction (15), and subtracts BlitzFailing demerits (up to −30) for debt, revenue quality, governance and regulatory cost. The model is frozen at v1.0; past scores are never silently rewritten. Our own pre-registered tests found the score measures business quality — it does not predict stock returns.
Research only — not investment advice. Scores measure blitzscaling strategy from public data. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.