Applied Digital Secures $300M Bridge Loan for AI Data Center Expansion
Event summary
- Applied Digital closed a $300M senior secured bridge facility led by Goldman Sachs.
- The loan funds construction of its third AI data center at Polaris Forge 1 in North Dakota.
- The 364-day term loan bears interest at SOFR + 275 basis points and is secured by project assets.
- Applied Digital plans to seek additional financing to complete the construction.
- The company was named Best Data Center in the Americas 2025 by Datacloud.
The big picture
Applied Digital's $300M bridge loan underscores the capital-intensive nature of AI data center development. The financing reflects both the strategic importance of North Dakota's Polaris Forge 1 campus and the challenges of securing long-term funding for rapidly scaling infrastructure. The deal comes as hyperscale cloud providers and AI firms increasingly compete for specialized data center capacity, pushing developers to balance speed with sustainable financing structures.
What we're watching
- Financing Strategy
- How Applied Digital will transition from bridge financing to long-term capital for its AI data center projects.
- Construction Timeline
- Whether the company can maintain its planned construction schedule amid potential financing gaps.
- Market Demand
- The pace at which AI and high-performance computing workloads will drive demand for Applied Digital's data center capacity.
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