Video-sharing platform Rumble announced a business combination agreement with AI infrastructure company Northern Data, following its deepening financial ties with stablecoin issuer Tether.
In a Monday notice, Rumble said it would acquire Northern Data following its August announcement with Tether as part of a joint venture to purchase the AI infrastructure company. Reuters reported that the acquisition would be valued at about $767 million as part of a stock deal between Rumble and Northern Data.
Tether invested $775 million into Rumble in December 2024, citing the platform’s “fundamental values of freedom of speech and financial freedom,” according to Paolo Ardonio, CEO of the stablecoin issuer.
Ardoino joined Rumble’s investor call for the third quarter of 2025, confirming Tether had agreed on a $150 million GPU service purchasing deal as part of the Northern Data acquisition and a $100 million advertising deal.
Related: Kraken acquires Capitalise.ai as crypto companies buy AI startups
“Our investment in Rumble is about building infrastructure that protects […] freedoms,” said Ardonio in the Monday investor call. “We share the same vision of creating open platforms as a counterweight to centralized, censor-prone Big Tech.”
Following the 2024 Tether investment, Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski hinted that the platform planned to attack YouTube’s market share. The share price of the company’s RUM stock on Nasdaq rose about 7.6% in the previous five days, hitting $6.42 at the time of publication.
Crypto companies snatching up AI deals
Tether’s joint interest in Northern Data with Rumble was the latest acquisition involving a cryptocurrency or blockchain company expanding into AI services.
In January, Chainalysis acquired the AI fraud detection startup Alterya for a reported $150 million as part of the blockchain analytics company’s expansion to enhance “proactive fraud protection for payments and enhanced fraud detection.” Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings followed in August, signing a $168 million deal to acquire a 64% stake in Exaion, a French company that provides AI and cloud infrastructure.
Magazine: Why AI sucks at freelance work and real-life tasks: AI Eye
