Chris Parker. Credit: IREN
AI cloud company IREN has acquired Awaken, a creative and media agency that had been its lead external marketing partner, folding the team into the business under executive employment agreements.
Awaken, which specialises in content strategy and brand development, will cease independent operations.
Its founder and CEO, Chris Parker, will head IREN's brand and marketing strategy as the company scales across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
Commercial terms of the sale haven't been released.
Daniel Roberts, co-founder and co-CEO of IREN, said the move was a logical step as the platform grows.
"As we expand across new geographies and customer segments, brand awareness and customer engagement become increasingly important,” Roberts said.
“Chris and the Awaken team have been trusted partners to IREN for some time, and bringing those capabilities in-house was a natural next step as the platform continues to scale."
Parker said the company had the foundations to support the ambition.
"IREN has built a differentiated platform and a strong foundation for growth,” he said.
“I'm excited to join the IREN team and help elevate our brand and reach to match the scale of what we are building."
IREN operates large-scale data centres and GPU clusters for AI training and inference, backed by grid-connected land and power in renewable-rich regions.
CEO of This is Flow, Jimmy Hyett, welcomed Awaken's media clients and team into the agency.
"This is a really exciting moment for us," he said.
"With such a strategic alignment in how we work, our values, and the passion we share, makes the process so enjoyable.
"There’s already such a high standard of work these clients have come to expect, and now both clients and staff can experience new tools, technology and even more scale behind them, to elevate this even further.”
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