Applied Digital signs $5.2 billion AI data center lease with U.S. hyperscaler


AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration taken, June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

June 8 (Reuters) - Applied Digital ⁠has signed a 15-year lease with a U.S.-based hyperscaler ⁠at its Delta Forge 2 site which is ‌expected to generate about $5.2 billion in revenue over the period, sending the company's shares up 8.7% in extended trading.

Major technology companies are raising their spending ​on data centers to support powerful artificial ⁠intelligence models, boosting demand ⁠for electricity, computing capacity and specialized facilities.

About 70% of Applied ⁠Digital's contracted ‌revenue is now backed by U.S.-based investment-grade hyperscalers, the company said on Monday.

The new agreement covers ⁠210 megawatts of computing capacity at Delta Forge ​2, Applied Digital's ‌new AI Factory campus, under a take-or-pay lease structure.

The ⁠company did not ​give more details on its new customer, but said the deal marked its third long-term lease with the same investment-grade hyperscaler.

If ⁠all renewal options are exercised, the contract ​could generate about $12.7 billion in revenue over a 30-year period.

Applied Digital's contracted portfolio now spans five campuses, representing 1.4 gigawatts of ⁠critical IT load and about 2.15 gigawatts of grid-connected utility power.

The company said its contracted base-term lease revenue has increased to about $36 billion and would rise to roughly $86 billion if ​all renewal options are exercised.

Delta Forge 2 ⁠will use Applied Digital's waterless cooling technology and high-power density ​infrastructure designed for AI workloads. Initial operations ‌at the campus are expected ​to begin in the first quarter of 2028.

(Reporting by Harshita Mary Varghese in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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