Former bitcoin miner plans to build an easier cloudy AI on ramp while remaining a friend to FOSS Neocloud IREN has decided to buy Mirantis, and the two plan to build an open AI stack. Mirantis made its name developing open source cloud infrastructure, such as its OpenStack distribution, hyperconverged appliances, and Kubernetes tools. In 2025, the company introduced the k0rdent AI platform, a tool for automating deployment of AI infrastructure. Formed in 2018, IREN started life as Iris Energy. As its 2021 prospectus explains, the company went looking for sources of cheap energy, built or acquired datacenters in the vicinity, then started mining bitcoin. In 2023, the company decided to get into the generative AI business and started buying Nvidia GPUs. A rebrand followed and saw Iris Energy name itself after its NASDAQ ticker “IREN.” IREN initially built facilities in the Canadian province of British Columbia, then branched out to build bit barns in Texas and Oklahoma.…