Core Scientific appoints AI infrastructure veteran Mark Adams to board

By: William Foxley | 3 min read

Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) has appointed former Penguin Solutions chief executive Mark W. Adams to its board of directors, effective immediately. The appointment expands the bitcoin miner and AI infrastructure provider's board to seven members.

Adams brings more than 30 years of experience in AI infrastructure, semiconductors, storage, digital media, and enterprise hardware. He served as president and CEO of Penguin Solutions from 2020 until February 2026, when he retired from both the role and the company's board.

Under Adams' leadership, Penguin Solutions—formerly SMART Global Holdings—refocused on AI infrastructure. The company consolidated independent businesses under a single brand, expanded its product portfolio, and pursued opportunities in AI and advanced memory markets. Adams was set to remain as an adviser for nine months after Kash Shaikh assumed the CEO role on February 2.

Core Scientific Builds Out AI Capacity

The appointment adds a director with deep experience in the markets underpinning Core Scientific's transition from bitcoin mining toward high-density colocation. The company operates 11 facilities across seven states and reports that the majority of its revenue now comes from colocation services, with the remainder generated by self-mining bitcoin and hosting customer mining equipment.

"Mark brings an exceptional combination of technology leadership and operational expertise to our Board," said Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan. "His deep experience across AI infrastructure, semiconductors and data storage will be highly relevant as we continue expanding our high-density data center platform and strengthening our foundation for growth."

Core Scientific reported on Tuesday that its total leased customer power capacity had reached approximately 1.1 gigawatts, representing more than $24 billion in potential contracted revenue. As of mid-July, the company was billing for 437 megawatts, translating to roughly $635 million in average annualized colocation GAAP revenue.

The company also announced an AMD partnership that could support up to 2.5 gigawatts of leasable capacity. Initial 15-year agreements cover approximately 530 megawatts across five sites and represent more than $14 billion in potential base contracted revenue, according to Core Scientific.

"Core Scientific is operating at the forefront of the AI infrastructure market, developing the critical capacity needed to support the growth of advanced computing," Adams said. He stated he would support efforts to expand the platform, strengthen customer relationships, and deliver durable shareholder value.

Board Expands During Infrastructure Transition

Adams' appointment follows the addition of Zayo Group CEO Steve Smith in May. Smith previously led Equinix from 2007 to 2018, during which annual revenue grew from roughly $400 million to above $4 billion. Core Scientific noted that Smith's background in data centers and power infrastructure would support its AI build-out.

The board changes also follow a February cooperation agreement with Two Seas Capital. Core Scientific agreed to appoint three independent directors in consultation with the investment firm through the 2027 annual meeting, while limiting the board to no more than nine members during that period. The filing did not identify Adams as one of the three appointees.