Data center firm Avaio Digital is developing a new campus in Arkansas.

Avaio Digital Partners this week announced plans for a new data center hub near Little Rock in Pulaski County, Arkansas.

Known as Avaio Digital Leo, Avaio is currently contracted with Entergy Arkansas for 150MW of power, but the company anticipates power demand of up to 1GW as the 760-acre campus grows. The company said the site features “substantial” on-site natural gas infrastructure.

Mark McComiskey, CEO of AVAIO Digital, said: "It is our intention that this extraordinary 760-acre site in the Little Rock area will be both a major pole of data center capacity and an engine of sustained economic and technological momentum for Arkansas. With a first-phase investment of $6 billion and over $21bn through full development, infrastructure of this scale requires support from communities and partners, and we thank Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald, and Entergy Arkansas for helping make this possible. We look forward to continuing to work with these partners and the local communities as we break ground in early 2026."

Construction of the first phase is expected to start in the first quarter of 2026 and will be completed and energized in June 2027.

The campus will be built out in multiple phases with an initial $6bn combined investment from Avaio and its customers.

"Avaio Digital's $6bn data center hub represents the largest economic investment in Arkansas' history and sets the Natural State up to become a technology powerhouse that can compete with any state in the nation," said Governor Sanders.

Local press reports the campus will be located on land near Interstate 530 and 145th Street.

The company said the campus was named after the constellation Leo – the Lion – symbolizing “strength, power, and leadership.”

Founded in 2016, Avaio Capital is a US infrastructure investment firm focused on the digital, water, energy transition, and transportation sectors. The company launched Avaio Digital Partners in 2021 to focus on build-to-suit development and construction of sustainable hyperscale data centers in the Americas and Europe.

Avaio Digital claims to have secured more than 1.2GW of power from utilities at campuses in California, Virginia, Arkansas, and Mississippi. More than 450MW is set to be energized in 2027.

The company’s website also lists projects in Texas. It previously announced plans for a 50MW project outside Ottawa, Canada, which is no longer listed. In Europe, it is targeting developments in County Mayo, Ireland, and Madrid, Spain.

"We are pleased to welcome Avaio Digital to central Arkansas and are excited about the benefits their investments and jobs bring to our community," said Laura Landreaux, president and CEO of Entergy Arkansas. "This first phase of Avaio Digital's project represents yet another success story of attracting new customers and employers, which in turn will drive down costs for everyone."

Arkansas has traditionally had a very limited data center market, with colo operator TierPoint and local ISPs Brightspeed, Cox, and Windstream all having facilities in the state. The likes of TW Telecom, MSP Mainstream Technologies, and blockchain firm Sollensys also operate in Little Rock.