Applied Digital locks $7.5 billion AI data center lease with unnamed US hyperscaler

Applied Digital Secures Massive AI Data Center Lease with US Hyperscaler

Applied Digital (APLD) has locked in a $7.5 billion lease agreement with an unnamed US hyperscaler, marking one of the largest deals in the AI infrastructure sector 1

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. The 15-year lease covers 300 megawatts of critical IT load at the company's Delta Forge 1 campus, a 430-megawatt facility located in the southern United States 2

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. Shares of APLD jumped more than 12% following the announcement, reflecting investor confidence in the company's expanding role as a data center provider for AI 3

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. This agreement positions Applied Digital to capitalize on surging demand for AI infrastructure as tech giants race to secure computing capacity for artificial intelligence workloads.

Strengthening Position Among Investment-Grade Hyperscalers

The deal makes the unnamed customer Applied Digital's second US-based investment-grade hyperscaler across its AI Factory portfolio, which now spans three campuses 4

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. With this addition, the company's total contracted lease revenue has climbed to more than $23 billion, diversifying its customer base with a third hyperscale tenant 1

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. More than half of Applied Digital's contracted lease revenue is now backed by investment-grade customers, a metric that signals financial stability and attracts further institutional interest 2

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. Chairman and CEO Wes Cummins emphasized that having two US-based investment-grade hyperscalers across the portfolio marks an important step in diversifying the customer base and strengthening revenue quality 3

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Delta Forge 1 Campus: Built for Large-Scale AI Operations

The Delta Forge 1 campus represents Applied Digital's newest and most ambitious AI Factory site, spanning more than 500 acres and designed specifically to handle large-scale artificial intelligence workloads 4

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. The facility integrates high-density power delivery systems and advanced cooling systems to support both AI training and inference operations in high-performance computing environments 3

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. Built on the company's repeatable AI Factory model, the campus is engineered to deliver consistent performance at scale for cloud computing and other data-intensive workloads 2

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. Initial operations at Delta Forge 1 are anticipated to commence in mid-2027, positioning Applied Digital to meet the growing needs of hyperscalers investing billions in digital infrastructure 1

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Financing Plans to Support Continued Expansion

Separately, Applied Digital announced plans to secure up to $600 million in financing to fund ongoing development across its platform 1

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. This includes a $300 million senior secured bridge facility dedicated to developing the 150-megawatt Building 3 data center at its Polaris Forge 1 campus, and an additional up to $300 million revolving credit facility to support broader platform development and working capital needs 4

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. These credit facilities are expected to close promptly and be provided by a syndicate of bank lenders on customary market terms 3

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. The financing strategy reflects Applied Digital's commitment to scaling its data center hosting capabilities as demand for high-performance computing infrastructure accelerates.

Why This Matters for AI Infrastructure

The agreement arrives as major technology companies including Amazon, Alphabet's Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Oracle—collectively known as hyperscalers—invest billions to secure facilities with sufficient computing power for AI systems 2

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. Applied Digital, which operates through brands including Sai Computing and provides services for machine learning developers, is among the companies benefiting from this rapid expansion 5

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. Analysts remain bullish on APLD, with consensus price targets reaching $30.47 and recent upgrades from firms like Roth Capital setting targets as high as $58 3

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. The stock surge following the announcement underscores investor recognition that securing long-term contracts with investment-grade hyperscalers provides revenue visibility in a competitive market. As AI adoption intensifies, watch for Applied Digital to announce additional tenant agreements and campus developments that could further diversify its revenue streams and solidify its position in the AI infrastructure race.