AI Factory Fortunes: Applied Digital (APLD)

Welcome to AI Collision 💥,

In today’s collision between AI and our world:

• From crypto to compute
• 235% in a year isn’t too shabby
• Mother dancefloor blessings

If that’s enough to get the mining rigs computing read on…

AI Collision 💥

This week’s installment of AI Factory Fortunes profiles a lesser-known company at the crossroads of AI and infrastructure.

Our series explores the unsung heroes enabling the AI revolution and building out the “AI Factories” of the future.

These companies are all one you should get to know, be familiar with and understand where they fit into the broader puzzle.

It should be noted, these are not stock recommendations.

They are profile pieces, information, an introduction if you will, so that you can use this info to heighten your own independent research and make more in depth decisions about your own investment portfolio.

Today we spotlight Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD).

They are a company that started in crypto mining but has reinvented itself as a builder of massive “AI factory” campuses.

Applied Digital is already powering some of the biggest names in AI by providing the space and power they desperately need.

Applied Digital may not be a familiar name on Wall Street yet, but it’s making waves in the data center world.

The Dallas-based firm has struck huge deals to lease entire data center campuses to CoreWeave, the fast-growing AI cloud provider.

In 2025, Applied Digital signed long-term leases totaling 400 MW of capacity for CoreWeave at its North Dakota campus, translating to an eye-popping $11 billion in anticipated contracted revenue over 15 years.

Essentially, Applied Digital is building and operating mega-scale data centers (branded as its “Polaris Forge” campus) and renting them wholesale to CoreWeave to use for AI compute.

It’s a bit like constructing an entire factory and leasing it to a single tenant… in this case, a tenant with deep pockets and a hunger for AI capacity.

CoreWeave, for context, is a pioneer in offering cloud GPU computing and famously landed multi-billion contracts with OpenAI (we’ll actually be profiling CoreWeave next week so make sure to check that one out!).

By partnering with Applied Digital, CoreWeave avoids sinking capital into building every data center itself, while Applied locks in a steady, long-term cash flow.

Applied’s CEO said about the deal,

This new lease…underpins our commitment to building the next generation of AI infrastructure right here in America’s heartland

The North Dakota campus (dubbed Polaris Forge) can eventually scale to 1 gigawatt of IT load, a colossal capacity, leveraging the region’s cool climate and wind power to keep costs low.

Already, Applied is expanding in stages: the first 100 MW went live in late 2025, the next 150 MW is under construction for 2026, and another 150 MW was just added for 2027.

The financial implications are significant.

With the latest 150 MW lease finalized in August 2025, Applied’s total contracted backlog jumped to around $11 billion (up from $7 billion earlier in the year).

These leases span 15 years each, providing decades-long revenue. In fact, management has forecast net operating income around $1 billion once all this capacity is up and running.

For a company that only relatively recently pivoted from Bitcoin mining to data centers, this is a big turnaround.

Investors have taken note, and Applied Digital’s stock surged on news of these deals, reflecting optimism that the company will reap the rewards of the AI compute boom.

So what exactly does Applied Digital do to earn those billions?

Applied Digital’s partnership with CoreWeave effectively positions it as the build-to-suit developer for one of AI’s most important cloud players.

CoreWeave, which recently expanded its OpenAI contract to a whopping $22.4 billion, needs somewhere to host all those GPUs.

Applied is providing that somewhere, and doing it fast.

In May 2025, Applied delivered two large leases (100 MW + 150 MW) at Polaris Forge to CoreWeave, then followed up with another 150 MW in August.

By leasing rather than outright owning, CoreWeave can treat these as operating expenses and avoid billions in upfront capital expenditure, while Applied basically becomes a utility-like business with giant AI tenants.

For investors, Applied Digital is a fascinating case of a small cap (albeit it’s now carrying an $8 billion valuation) riding the AI wave in an unexpected way.

A year ago, it was primarily viewed as a crypto proxy (operating some blockchain computing).

Today, it’s valued for its 15-year contracts with an AI unicorn.

The stock’s volatility has been high and it’s pumped price in the last year has been extraordinary.

We can’t look at a company like this however and not recognise that delivering on all this is crucial, and making sure their technology remains reliable is everything to their success.

One hidden upside is that Applied’s model is replicable too. It can rinse and repeat this “AI factory” leasing for other clients or locations.

The company has hinted at additional campuses in development and other hyperscaler customers it could pursue.

If the North Dakota blueprint succeeds, why not build another in, say, West Texas or the Midwest where power is cheap?

Also, as an early mover, Applied has a chance to establish itself as the go-to specialist for rapid AI data center deployment. The demand is certainly there – hyperscalers and labs are scrambling for space and power (as evidenced by Microsoft’s massive deals with the likes of Nebius and CoreWeave).

Applied Digital is still one of those “picks and shovels” plays for the AI factory boom

In that, it’s both picking and shoveling, by constructing the very facilities where AI gold is mined.

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Boomers & Busters 💰

AI and AI-related stocks moving and shaking up the markets this week. (All performance data below over the rolling week).

Boom 📈

• Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) up 3%
• IBM (NYSE:IBM) up 2%
• Meta (NASDAQ:META) up 2%

Bust 📉

• TeraWulf (NASDAQ:WULF) down 18%
• Everspin Technologies (NASDAQ:MRAM) down 17%
• Taiwain Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) down 5%

From the hive mind 🧠

• This may be the biggest question facing Tesla and its shareholders in the coming year. Is the company going to be a car company going forward, or is it going to be a robotics company? There’s quite literally trillions at stake.
• Ah, yes, when it comes to AI superintelligence and whether we should, or shouldn’t proceed with research around it, you know who I’d turn to first for my information and who I would listen to… Harry and Meghan.
• Pornography is a key aspect in the success of many audio and visual technologies over the years, from cinema to VHS, DVD, the internet, virtual reality, etc. So it does stand to reason that it also will play a significant role in the success (or lack thereof) of AI too.

Artificial Polltelligence 🗳️

Weirdest AI content of the day

ChatGPT’s random quote of the day

Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to leave comments and questions below,

Sam Volkering

Editor-in-Chief

AI Collision