Canada-based former cryptomining company Sato Technologies has signed a letter of intent to develop an AI data center in Bhutan.

This would see the firm develop a 100MW data center project in the Gelephu Mindfulness City, an approximately 2,600 sq km (10,03 sq miles) planned development – around five percent of the country’s landmass. The GMC was announced in December 2023 and will have its own executive, judicial, and legislative powers to encourage foreign business and investment.

Sato said that the campus’ first phase would consist of an initial development phase of 5MW, with a potential expansion pathway to 500MW.

The company also said that it would get its power from Bhutan’s hydroelectric resources. Almost all of the country’s electricity comes from hydroelectric sources.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, Bhutan’s electricity generation was around 2.5GW in 2024, meaning that the proposed data center, if expanded, could use up to 20 percent of the country’s electricity.

Sato said that the compute would be used to service demand for “AI infrastructure” in nearby South Asian markets.

Both Sato and Bhutan have a shared history with cryptocurrencies.

Founded in 2017, Sato, formerly known as Canada Computational Unlimited Corp, offered Bitcoin mining hosting services before pivoting to capitalize on the demand for AI. Its only data center – a 20MW facility in Quebec – caught fire in June 2024.

Bhutan’s government is betting that it can use the country’s hydroelectric power to mine Bitcoin, which is held by the government treasury as a reserve asset.

“Bhutan is blessed with abundant hydroelectric power. At times, we generate more clean energy than we can consume or export,” reads the Gelephu Mindfulness City’s website.

“Rather than allowing this precious resource to go unused, we chose to convert part of this surplus into a long-term national asset through the responsible mining of Bitcoin.”

Back in August 2023, Singapore-based cryptominer Bitdeer completed a $500 million mining data center in the town of Gedu. It was announced at the time that the facility would be able to host 30,000 mining machines

The Himalayan country, landlocked between China and India, is not a major data center hub.