Applied Digital (APLD) is doubling down on its North Dakota ambitions with plans for a massive new AI campus.
On Monday, the company said it will break ground in September on Polaris Forge 2, a $3 billion, 280-megawatt (MW) “AI Factory” near Harwood, ND.
The facility is designed to expand beyond its initial 280MW, with the first stage set to be operational in 2026 and full capacity expected by 2027.
Polaris Forge 2 will be Applied Digital’s second major site in North Dakota, joining its Polaris Forge 1 campus in Ellendale.
CEO Wes Cummins called the expansion “the next stage in Applied Digital’s rapid growth and our position as a leader in delivering high-performance AI infrastructure.”
He added that the company is in “advanced negotiations with a U.S.-based investment-grade hyperscaler” for the new campus, which is an early sign the project may already be spoken for.
“The demand for AI capacity continues to accelerate, and North Dakota continues to be one of the most strategic locations in the country to meet that need,” Cummins said.
The comments follow Cummins’ remarks in last month’s fiscal Q4 earnings report, when he pledged to break ground on at least one — and possibly two — new campuses before year-end.
Applied Digital’s model is straightforward: operate like a real estate investment trust for hyperscalers, leasing server space in long-term deals. After a slow start, that strategy is now gaining traction.
Applied Digital stock jumped 14.8% in early trading after the news.
Massive scale
The Polaris Forge 2 site is ambitious even by hyperscaler standards.
The company has contracted over 900 acres, with room for two initial facilities and further expansion. Once operational, the project is expected to employ more than 200 full-time workers and additional long-term contractors.
It’s a bet on a booming market. The global data center industry is forecast to grow from $269.79 billion in 2025 to $584.86 billion by 2032, an 11.7% compound annual growth rate, according to Fortune Business Insights.
North America remains the hub, controlling nearly 39% of the market in 2024.
Applied Digital has been quick to market North Dakota as the ideal home for this growth. In a June white paper, it called the state the “epicenter of AI infrastructure,” citing cheap electricity, a cooler climate, and savings of up to $2.7 billion over a 30-year lease compared with other U.S. regions.
So far, that sales pitch is working. Applied Digital stock has soared 111.7% year-to-date, making it one of the hottest AI-adjacent infrastructure plays on the market.
CoreWeave deal powers momentum
In June, Applied Digital inked two blockbuster 15-year lease agreements with CoreWeave (CRWV), one of the fastest-growing names in AI infrastructure.
The contracts cover 250MW of critical IT load at the Ellendale campus and were originally expected to bring in $7 billion over their lifetime.
Earlier this month, Applied Digital revealed that CoreWeave had exercised an option for another 150MW, lifting the projected revenue to roughly $11 billion.
That alone gives the company multi-year revenue visibility and validates its leasing strategy.
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