Applied Digital Jumps 4.5% on First Milestone in $5B AI Deal
The data center operator secured its first funds from Macquarie Asset Management to build out a major AI computing facility in North Dakota.
Shares of Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) climbed over 4.4% after the company announced a significant step forward in its partnership with Macquarie Asset Management, executing the first funding milestone in a monumental $5.0 billion AI infrastructure deal. The infusion of capital is set to accelerate the company's expansion into the high-demand market for specialized data centers.
The initial funding of $112.5 million is the first tranche from the massive financing facility provided by Macquarie. Applied Digital will use these proceeds to advance the development of its 400-megawatt 'AI Factory' campus in Ellendale, North Dakota. This first phase of the campus, known as Polaris Forge 1, is fully leased to AI cloud provider CoreWeave, positioning Applied Digital as a critical infrastructure provider in the booming artificial intelligence sector.
This transaction is part of a broader next-generation data centers across the United States. The agreement with Macquarie, a global asset manager, provides a substantial, long-term capital solution that validates Applied Digital's strategy and operational capabilities. According to the official , the full $5 billion commitment could support over two gigawatts of data center capacity, tailored specifically for high-performance computing (HPC) and AI workloads.
The deal is structured as a perpetual preferred equity investment, which includes Macquarie taking a 15% common equity interest in Applied Digital's HPC business segment. This structure allows Applied Digital to retain 85% ownership while securing the necessary capital to scale its operations rapidly, repay existing project-level debt, and reduce the need for future equity contributions from public stockholders.
For investors, signals strong institutional confidence in the explosive growth of the AI infrastructure market. By securing this funding, Applied Digital solidifies its balance sheet and enhances its ability to execute its project pipeline, aiming to become a leading builder and operator of the critical digital infrastructure powering the next wave of technology.