Applied Digital
Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) designs, builds, and operates AI Factory data center campuses for U.S. investment-grade hyperscaler tenants under long-term take-or-pay leases. The company has five campuses representing 1.4 GW of contracted critical IT load and approximately $36B in base-term lease revenue.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersDallas, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Applied Digital does
Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: APLD) is a Dallas-based, Nevada-incorporated digital infrastructure operator that designs, develops, and operates large-scale "AI Factory" data center campuses for U.S.-based investment-grade hyperscaler tenants. Originally operating as Applied Blockchain, Inc., the company pivoted from cryptocurrency mining to AI and high-performance computing (HPC) hosting, and now runs three reportable segments: HPC Hosting (the flagship AI Factory business), Data Center Hosting (legacy energized-space hosting for crypto mining customers), and Cloud Services (separated into ChronoScale Corporation, NASDAQ: CHRN, in May 2026 via combination with EKSO Bionics Holdings).
The HPC Hosting franchise comprises five AI Factory campuses — Polaris Forge 1, 2, and 3 in North Dakota, and Delta Forge 1 and Delta Forge 2 in Louisiana and another southern U.S. state — totaling 1.4 GW of contracted critical IT load. Each campus is purpose-built around proprietary waterless cooling, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, closed-loop cooling, and high-power-density infrastructure designed for large-scale GPU clusters. The company deploys ABB HiPerGuard 34.5kV medium-voltage UPS systems, integrates with Nvidia GPU platforms (H100/A100), and is vertically extending into power generation through Base Electron and a Design-Build Agreement with Babcock & Wilcox for approximately 1.2 GW in the MISO region.
Applied Digital makes money primarily through long-term take-or-pay lease revenue from hyperscaler tenants, with average base terms of 15 years and renewal options up to 30 years. Approximately $36B of contracted base-term lease revenue is locked in across the five campuses (up to ~$86B with renewals), with CoreWeave anchoring approximately $11B and two other unnamed U.S. investment-grade hyperscalers anchoring the remaining ~$25B. Project-level financing is raised through vehicles such as APLD ComputeCo LLC ($2.35B 9.25% Senior Secured Notes due 2030) and APLD ComputeCo 3 LLC ($1.59B 7.000% Senior Secured Notes due 2031), supplemented by a $550M Goldman Sachs-arranged revolver, a $900M Macquarie Asset Management partnership via APLD HPC TopCo 2 LLC, and strategic equity from Nvidia and Related Companies. Legacy Data Center Hosting contributes fixed monthly hosting fees from crypto mining customers on approximately 286 MW of capacity.
Applied Digital firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Applied Digital
- Legal name
- Applied Digital Corporation
- Website
- https://ir.applieddigital.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD) designs, builds, and operates AI Factory data center campuses for U.S. investment-grade hyperscaler tenants under long-term take-or-pay leases. The company has five campuses representing 1.4 GW of contracted critical IT load and approximately $36B in base-term lease revenue.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Applied Digital industry classification
Industry- Product category
- AI Data Center Infrastructure
- NAICS
- Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (33341), Steam and Air-Conditioning Supply (221330)
- SIC
- Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cooling Systems & Thermal Management (CRAC/CRAH, Chillers, Liquid Cooling) (HDABAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Power Distribution & Switchgear (UPS, PDUs, Busway) (HDABAKAA), Heat Rejection & Mechanical Plant (Cooling Towers, Pumps, Condensers) (HDABAKAE)
Keywords
Where Applied Digital is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dallas
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Applied Digital business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Others
Revenue model
- HPC Hosting (AI Factory): Long-term take-or-pay lease revenue from hyperscaler tenants for AI Factory campuses (Polaris Forge 1, Delta Forge 1, Delta Forge 2, Polaris Forge 3). Average lease terms of 15 years with renewal options up to 30 years. Total contracted base-term lease revenue of approximately $36 billion (up to $86 billion with renewals). Accounts for majority of forward revenue growth.
- Data Center Hosting (Crypto Mining): Energized space and operational/maintenance services to crypto mining customers who locate their hardware in Applied Digital's co-hosting facility. Fixed-rate hosting revenue; operates 286 MW of Bitcoin mining capacity generating $37.5M revenue and $14M operating profit in Q3 FY2026. Legacy/reduced focus segment.
- Cloud Services: Managed cloud infrastructure services to AI and machine learning developers through Applied Digital Cloud Corporation. Now spun off into ChronoScale Corporation (NASDAQ: CHRN) effective May 5, 2026 via business combination with EKSO Bionics Holdings. Generated ~$75M in FY25 revenue at spinoff.
- Tenant recoveries and interconnection: Reimbursable operating expenses including power, security, and interconnection services (port, cross-connect) billed to HPC hosting tenants and recognized as revenue. Included as part of HPC hosting lease revenue.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Multi-year contract | 15-year take-or-pay hyperscaler leases on AI Factory campuses |
| Unit Pricing | Monthly | Data center hosting services for crypto mining customers |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Applied Digital product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Applied Digital designs, builds, and operates next-generation AI Factory data center campuses across North America for hyperscaler and HPC tenants under long-term take-or-pay leases. The company deploys proprietary waterless cooling, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, and high-power density infrastructure across five campuses (Polaris Forge 1-3 and Delta Forge 1-2) representing approximately 1.4 GW of critical IT load and roughly $36 billion in contracted base-term lease revenue.
Product overview
Applied Digital Corporation operates an integrated AI Factory franchise model combining three reportable business segments: (1) the HPC Hosting Business, which designs, builds, and operates large-scale AI/HPC data centers (Polaris Forge 1, Polaris Forge 2, Polaris Forge 3, Delta Forge 1, and Delta Forge 2 campuses) for hyperscaler tenants under long-term take-or-pay leases; (2) the Data Center Hosting Business, which provides energized space to crypto mining customers; and (3) the Cloud Services Business, which was separated in May 2026 into the independent ChronoScale Corporation (NASDAQ: CHRN). The HPC Hosting Business is the company's flagship offering, deploying proprietary waterless cooling technology and high-power density infrastructure purpose-built for large-scale AI training and inference workloads, with contracted portfolio spanning five AI Factory campuses representing 1.4 GW of critical IT load and approximately $36 billion in total contracted base-term lease revenue.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Polaris Forge 1: AI Factory campus in Ellendale, North Dakota operated by APLD HPC TopCo 2 LLC; includes Buildings ELN-02 (100 MW), ELN-03 (150 MW) and ELN-04 (150 MW), with CoreWeave and hyperscaler as tenants.
- Polaris Forge 2
- Polaris Forge 3
- Delta Forge 1
- Delta Forge 2
- Base Electron
Products and services
- HPC Hosting Business (AI Factory Franchise)
- Data Center Hosting (Crypto Mining)
- Polaris Forge 1 AI Factory Campus
- Polaris Forge 2 AI Factory Campus
- Polaris Forge 3 AI Factory Campus
- Delta Forge 1 AI Factory Campus
- Delta Forge 2 AI Factory Campus
Companies that use Applied Digital
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles2 records
Applied Digital technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration6 records
AI capability4 records
Feature5 records
Applied Digital partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves11 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Applied Digital competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- CoreWeave: CoreWeave is both a major tenant and the most direct strategic comparable—a GPU-focused cloud provider built on top of large-scale AI/HPC data center capacity. It validates the demand thesis for high-density AI infrastructure that Applied Digital's campuses are purpose-built to serve, and the multi-Building Polaris Forge 1 lease makes CoreWeave APLD's anchor counterparty.
- Vantage Data Centers: Vantage is a wholesale hyperscale data center developer with campuses across North America and Europe, similar in franchise-model approach to APLD's AI Factory roll-out. Both build large purpose-built campuses and lease to hyperscalers and large cloud tenants under long-term agreements.
- Switch (DigitalBridge portfolio): Switch operates enterprise and hyperscale data center campuses purpose-built for high-density computing. Like Applied Digital, it differentiates on proprietary cooling and power architecture, and is now part of DigitalBridge's data center platform alongside Vantage and DataBank.
- Stack Infrastructure: Stack Infrastructure (IPI Partners) develops and operates hyperscale data center campuses for large cloud and AI tenants across the U.S. Its franchise model of building purpose-built campuses for anchor hyperscale tenants mirrors Applied Digital's Polaris Forge and Delta Forge playbook.
- Compass Datacenters: Compass Datacenters designs and builds customized hyperscale and enterprise data center facilities, often via a campus-franchise approach for large anchor tenants. Its modular and purpose-built development model is directly comparable to Applied Digital's AI Factory campus strategy.
Broad incumbents
- CyrusOne: CyrusOne (owned by KKR and Global Infrastructure Partners) is a large-scale colocation and hyperscale data center operator across North America and Europe. It serves similar hyperscaler customers but offers a broader portfolio spanning retail colocation, hyperscale, and interconnection—making it a broader incumbent rather than a pure-play AI Factory peer.
- QTS Data Centers (Blackstone): QTS, owned by Blackstone, operates large-scale hyperscale data center campuses across the U.S. and Europe and is one of the most direct wholesale comparables to Applied Digital's hyperscaler-leased campuses, though at substantially greater scale and with a broader service mix.
- Digital Realty Trust: Digital Realty is the largest publicly traded global data center REIT, operating colocation, interconnection, and hyperscale campuses worldwide. While much broader than APLD's AI Factory focus, its hyperscale segment competes for the same hyperscaler leases Applied Digital is winning in North America.
- Equinix: Equinix is the largest global retail colocation and interconnection operator with 260+ IBX data centers. It targets adjacent enterprise and cloud workloads rather than the megawatt-scale AI training deployments that anchor APLD, making it a broader incumbent in digital infrastructure rather than a direct competitor for hyperscaler AI leases.
Emerging players
- TeraWulf: TeraWulf is a U.S. energy-infrastructure-focused Bitcoin miner pivoting toward HPC and AI hosting at its Lake Mariner campus in New York. Its energy-first, high-density site strategy parallels Applied Digital's origin story and its pivot toward AI/HPC tenants creates direct overlap with APLD's data center hosting and HPC hosting segments.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Applied Digital social profiles
Digital presenceApplied Digital financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Applied Digital leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Applied Digital subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries12 records
Applied Digital funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds23 records
Investors10 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Applied Digital M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A2 records
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Applied Digital
What does Applied Digital do?
Applied Digital designs, builds, and operates next-generation AI Factory data center campuses across North America for hyperscaler and HPC tenants under long-term take-or-pay leases. The company deploys proprietary waterless cooling, direct-to-chip liquid cooling, and high-power density infrastructure across five campuses (Polaris Forge 1-3 and Delta Forge 1-2) representing approximately 1.4 GW of critical IT load and roughly $36 billion in contracted base-term lease revenue.
Is Applied Digital a public or private company?
Applied Digital is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Applied Digital founded?
Applied Digital was founded in 2021. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Applied Digital based?
Applied Digital is headquartered in Dallas, United States, in the North America region.
How does Applied Digital make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. HPC Hosting (AI Factory) is the primary driver. The others are data Center Hosting (Crypto Mining), cloud Services and tenant recoveries and interconnection.
Who are Applied Digital's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are CoreWeave, Vantage Data Centers, Switch (DigitalBridge portfolio), Stack Infrastructure and Compass Datacenters. Broad incumbents are CyrusOne, QTS Data Centers (Blackstone), Digital Realty Trust and Equinix. TeraWulf is listed as an emerging player.
Does Applied Digital have an API?
No public API is recorded for Applied Digital.
What industry is Applied Digital in?
Applied Digital's product category is AI Data Center Infrastructure. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDABAKAD, Cooling Systems & Thermal Management (CRAC/CRAH, Chillers, Liquid Cooling), with a secondary code of HDABAKAA, Power Distribution & Switchgear (UPS, PDUs, Busway). Its NAICS code is 33341 and its SIC code is 3585.