Data center firm Applied Digital has signed a pre-lease agreement for a new 430MW data center campus in the US.

The agreement will see the unnamed tenant lease capacity at Applied’s fourth AI campus, Polaris Forge 3.

Located on 600 acres in an unnamed northern state, Polaris Forge 3 will be designed to deliver 300MW of critical IT load, supported by approximately 430MW of grid-connected utility power.

The unnamed customer is the same US-based, high-investment-grade hyperscaler that previously signed on for capacity at Applied’s Delta Forge 1 campus.

The 15-year take-or-pay leases are valued at approximately $7.5 billion in base-term contracted revenue, $18.2bn if all options are exercised.

“Polaris Forge 3 is a direct extension of what we’ve proven works: a disciplined, repeatable AI Factory model that delivers large-scale capacity to the world’s most demanding compute customers,” said Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins. “This second 300MW lease with the same US-based high investment-grade hyperscaler we partnered with at Delta Forge 1 reflects the confidence we’ve built through disciplined execution and our ability to consistently advance large-scale AI infrastructure projects. We’ve earned a seat at the table with blue-chip customers, and we intend to keep that position through flawless execution and long-term operational reliability.”

Initial operations at Polaris Forge 3 are anticipated to commence in August 2027. The site will utilize liquid cooling and Applied’s waterless design.

Applied spins out cloud business

This month also saw Applied spin off its cloud unit.

The company announced the closing of its transaction to contribute its cloud business to Nasdaq-listed EKSO Bionics Holdings, Inc.

The cloud business is now a wholly owned subsidiary of EKSO, and EKSO changed its name to ChronoScale Corporation. Applied Digital owns approximately 97 percent of the outstanding shares of ChronoScale common stock.

“This transaction reflects a deliberate step in how we structure the business,” said Applied CEO Cummins. “Our data center hosting platform is built on long-duration contracts and predictable infrastructure returns, while the cloud compute layer operates on shorter cycles with a different risk profile. We believe separating these businesses allows each to be capitalized and scaled appropriately.”

ChronoScale has appointed Cenly Chen as CEO. Chen was previously chief growth officer at SuperMicro.

This month also saw Applied announce the closing of a $300 million senior secured bridge facility led by Goldman Sachs.

Applied Digital was founded in 2021 as Applied Blockchain. The Nasdaq-listed firm still operates two cryptomine sites in Jamestown and Ellendale, North Dakota, totaling some 286MW.

Applied’s Polaris Forge 1 and 2 hyperscale campuses are located in Ellendale and Harwood, North Dakota. The former is set to be leased to CoreWeave while much of the latter is set to be leased to an unnamed “investment grade hyperscaler.”

Its 430MW Delta Forge 1 site is set to be located outside Alexandria, Louisiana. The site is pre-leased to a US-based “high investment-grade hyperscaler.”

Works have begun, and initial operations at Delta Forge 1 are anticipated to commence in mid-2027.​​ The first phase will comprise two 150MW buildings on some 500 acres.

Applied had previously targeted a new campus in South Dakota, but has seemingly cooled its interest in the development.