Core Scientific adds AI infrastructure veteran Mark Adams to board

Core Scientific adds AI infrastructure veteran Mark Adams to board

William Foxley

Wed, July 29, 2026 at 4:59 PM GMT+3 3 min read

Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) appointed former Penguin Solutions chief executive Mark W. Adams to its board on Wednesday, expanding the bitcoin miner and AI infrastructure provider's board to seven directors effective immediately.

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

Penguin Solutions, formerly SMART Global Holdings, refocused on AI infrastructure under Adams. The company combined independent businesses under one brand, expanded its product portfolio and pursued opportunities in AI and advanced memory markets. Adams was set to remain an adviser for nine months after Kash Shaikh became CEO on February 2.

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Core Scientific builds out AI capacity

The appointment gives Core Scientific another director with experience in the markets underpinning its transition from bitcoin mining toward high-density colocation. Core Scientific operates 11 facilities across seven states and said most of its revenue now comes from colocation services, while the remainder comes from self-mining bitcoin and hosting customer mining equipment.

"Mark brings an exceptional combination of technology leadership and operational expertise to our Board," Core Scientific CEO Adam Sullivan said. "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 Tuesday that its total leased customer power capacity had reached about 1.1 gigawatts, representing more than $24 billion in potential contracted revenue. As of mid-July, it was billing for 437 megawatts, which translates 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 said he would support work to expand the platform, strengthen customer relationships and deliver durable shareholder value.

Board expands during infrastructure transition

Adams' appointment comes after the addition of Zayo Group CEO Steve Smith in May. Smith previously led Equinix from 2007 to 2018, during which annual revenue increased from roughly $400 million to above $4 billion. Core Scientific said 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.

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Adams spent 10 years at Micron, including four years as president. He has served on the Cadence Design Systems board since 2015 and joined the Seagate Technology board in 2024. Adams earned an MBA from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree from Boston College.