CoreWeave Signs Nearly $7B Data Center Lease With Applied Digital
Artificial intelligence cloud provider CoreWeave has signed a pair of 15-year agreements to lease 250 megawatts of computing capacity from Applied Digital, a cryptocurrency miner turned AI developer, in Ellendale, North Dakota.
The deal, announced Monday, will have Applied Digital build at least two data centers for CoreWeave at its existing Ellendale campus. Applied Digital expects the first 100 MW building to deliver in the fourth quarter. The second data center, expected to host 150 MW of capacity, is also under construction, with completion expected in mid-2026.
According to Applied Digital, the firm will generate close to $7B in total revenue from the two leases.
CoreWeave also holds an option for a third 150 MW data center on the site. That facility is still in the planning stages but could be completed in 2027.
“We believe these leases solidify Applied Digital’s position as an emerging provider of infrastructure critical to the next generation of artificial intelligence and high-performance computing,” Applied Digital CEO Wes Cummins said in a statement. “As demand for AI accelerates exponentially, we believe that we are uniquely positioned to deliver substantial returns while supporting the evolving and dynamic needs of these rapidly evolving sectors.”
Dallas-based Applied Digital, which used to operate as Applied Blockchain, develops and builds data center campuses that host computing for crypto and AI firms. While the company has provided cloud services, Applied announced in April that it planned to sell its cloud business in order to eventually restructure as a REIT.
Chip giant Nvidia is a major backer of Applied Digital, as is Macquarie Asset Management, which agreed to a deal in January to provide up to $5B in funding for the firm. That deal included $900M specifically invested in the Ellendale campus where the CoreWeave data centers are being built.
First launched in 2022, the Ellendale campus currently totals 400 MW of capacity, although the firm says the site has more than 1 gigawatt of power “under various stages of load study.” The company announced in February it had closed on $375M in financing for the site’s continued build-out.
Beyond Ellendale, Applied Digital has a 100 MW data center in Jamestown, North Dakota, with additional facilities being planned in Iowa and South Dakota.
For CoreWeave, the deal is just the latest addition to its rapidly expanding data center footprint. While the self-proclaimed “AI hyperscaler” may have made an underwhelming entrance onto public markets with a tepid initial public offering in March, the company has remained the major new entrant on the data center leasing landscape.
The firm signed a lease for 250 MW of capacity in April with Galaxy, another former crypto miner that has since pivoted to hosting AI computing. Last week, a development joint venture formed by Blue Owl, PowerHouse Data Centers and Chirisa to build data centers for CoreWeave announced it raised $750M for the next stage of that build-out.
CoreWeave’s share price has nearly tripled in the weeks since its IPO. The firm inked a $4B cloud deal with OpenAI last month and reported a 420% increase in revenue on its first public earnings call.
