Applied Digital lines up $300M bridge loan to accelerate AI data center build

Applied Digital closed a Goldman-led $300M senior secured bridge loan to accelerate its next 150 MW AI data center, layering it on top of $2.15B in notes and a $7.5B hyperscaler lease.

Summary

• Applied Digital has completed a $300 million senior secured bridge loan, led by Goldman Sachs, to help fund construction of a new AI data center campus.
• The facility is secured by project assets, carries standard market terms, and can be repaid early without penalty as the company lines up longer-term capital.
• The bridge comes on top of a previously priced $2.15 billion senior secured notes offering to finance 200 MW of AI infrastructure already leased to Oracle.

Bitcoin mining hosting and cloud services provider Applied Digital said it has closed a $300 million senior secured bridge facility to advance construction of a new AI data center project, following through on plans it outlined in April when it secured a 15‑year, $7.5 billion lease with an unnamed U.S. investment‑grade hyperscaler.

Company disclosures indicate the bridge is designed to fund continued development of the 150 MW “Building 3” data center at its Polaris Forge 1 campus, part of a broader AI Factory platform that now includes a 430 MW campus at Delta Forge 1.

The loan is secured by project assets and, according to Applied Digital, can be prepaid “at any time without penalty,” giving the firm flexibility to refinance into longer‑duration structures once permanent capital is arranged.

Management has said it expects to add a matching $300 million senior secured revolving credit facility, taking total new credit lines to as much as $600 million to cover pre‑lease and post‑lease development, working capital, and transaction expenses across its AI and high‑performance computing footprint.

From Bitcoin hosting to AI infrastructure

Applied Digital, listed on Nasdaq as APLD, started as a builder and operator of data centers for Bitcoin and crypto mining customers, with 106 MW and 180 MW facilities in Jamestown and Ellendale, North Dakota, running at full capacity by late 2025.

In March, the company priced $2.15 billion of senior secured notes via its APLD Compute 2 subsidiary, telling investors it would use the proceeds “to fund the development and construction of 200 megawatts of critical IT load” at an AI data center in North Dakota leased to Oracle under a 15‑year, roughly $5 billion contract.

The new bridge facility extends that financing stack, effectively front‑loading capital for Polaris Forge 1’s 150 MW expansion while Applied Digital works with lenders on a longer‑term structure that matches the 15‑year profile of its hyperscaler leases.

A recent crypto.news briefing outlined how the $7.5 billion AI campus lease gives Applied Digital contracted revenue visibility through 2041, making it easier to layer on project‑finance style debt.

Another crypto.news overview noted that the company’s combined plan for a $300 million bridge and a $300 million revolver is intended to “smooth development risk” as it scales up from crypto hosting to full‑blown AI infrastructure.

A separate crypto.news analysis highlighted how a prior development loan facility with Macquarie helped fund early-stage AI factory campuses, a strategy now being repeated at larger scale with Goldman Sachs and a broader bank syndicate.