Applied Digital said on April 23, 2026, that it signed a lease with a new U.S.-based high investment-grade hyperscaler for 300 megawatts of critical IT load at Delta Forge 1, its 430 MW AI Factory campus. The deal carries about $7.5 billion in total contracted value over an estimated 15-year term and lifts Applied Digital’s total contracted lease revenue to more than $23 billion.
The company said the new tenant is its second U.S.-based investment-grade hyperscaler across three AI Factory campuses, and that more than 50% of its total contracted revenue is now backed by investment-grade customers. For investors watching apld stock, the scale of the agreement sharpens the company’s pitch that it is turning long-lead data center development into durable revenue rather than speculative capacity.
Applied Digital, founded in Dallas in 2021, said initial operations at Delta Forge 1 are anticipated to begin in mid-2027. The company described Delta Forge 1 as its newest AI Factory campus, spanning more than 500 acres and built from the ground up to support large-scale AI workloads. That timeline matters because the lease adds revenue visibility now, while the cash-generating infrastructure is still under construction.
The new lease also sits alongside financing plans that show how expensive the buildout remains. Applied Digital said it expects to enter into an up to $300 million senior secured bridge facility to help fund continued development of the 150 MW Building 3 data center at Polaris Forge 1, along with an up to $300 million senior secured revolving credit facility for pre-lease and post-lease development activities across its platform, general working capital needs and transaction expenses.
That is the part that tempers the clean headline. The company is locking in contracted revenue with large customers, but it is also reaching for more debt to keep the construction machine moving. Cummins said the agreement marks an important step in diversifying the customer base and improving the quality and visibility of contracted revenue, while stressing that the company’s priority is execution and bringing capacity online on schedule.
For Applied Digital, the immediate question is not whether demand exists. The lease suggests it does. The question is whether the company can deliver Delta Forge 1 and Polaris Forge 1 on time, while preserving the discipline it says will define the next phase of the business.