Applied Digital to Break Ground on $3 Billion Polaris Forge 2 Campus in September 2025, Expanding North Dakota’s Role as a National AI Infrastructure Leader

Harwood-based AI Factory is designed for 280MW, with capacity to scale beyond, scheduled initial operations in 2026 and full capacity in early 2027, as Applied Digital expands in North Dakota to meet surging demand for compute power

DALLAS, Aug. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applied Digital Corporation (Nasdaq: APLD) announced today it plans to break ground in September 2025 on Polaris Forge 2, a $3 billion, 280-megawatt (MW) AI Factory near Harwood, North Dakota. Designed with the ability to scale beyond its initial 280MW, the campus—with initial capacity in 2026 and reaching full capacity in early 2027—further advances Applied Digital’s rapid growth and reinforces North Dakota’s position as one of the most strategically important destinations for AI infrastructure in the United States.

The new project comes as demand for AI computing capacity continues to surge, with hyperscalers, enterprises, and research organizations seeking scalable, high-performance infrastructure. Polaris Forge 2 builds on the success of Applied Digital’s Polaris Forge 1 Ellendale campus, expanding the company’s presence in a state that offers abundant energy, available land, and a pro-business climate.

"We believe Polaris Forge 2 represents the next stage in Applied Digital’s rapid growth and our position as a leader in delivering high-performance AI infrastructure," said Wes Cummins, CEO of Applied Digital. "The demand for AI capacity continues to accelerate, and North Dakota continues to be one of the most strategic locations in the country to meet that need. We have strong interest from multiple parties and are in advanced negotiations with a U.S. based investment-grade hyperscaler for this campus, making it both timely and prudent to proceed with groundbreaking and site development. We believe this new campus will strengthen our operations, increase our ability to scale, and create lasting value for both our customers and the communities we serve."

“North Dakota wins when companies like Applied Digital choose to be more than an employer. In Ellendale, they invested in people through workforce housing and created strong local partnerships that strengthen the community,” Governor Kelly Armstrong said. “We’re excited that they are committing to expanding their presence in North Dakota with a Harwood location, continuing the trend of being a positive corporate citizen and helping to develop our rural communities while contributing to our strong economy.”

The proposed development initially includes two facilities with capacity for future expansion. Applied Digital has contracted more than 900 acres for the campus and secured power through Cass County Electric Cooperative. Once fully operational, the site is expected to employ more than 200 full-time employees, in addition to long-term contractors.

Cass County Electric Cooperative is a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative serving counties across North Dakota:

“We are excited to have the opportunity to provide Applied Digital with the power they need to drive innovation and technology in a way that benefits our communities and legacy members. As we work through the final stages of an agreement, we will continue to keep our cooperative values at heart while preparing to meet the needs of future generations,” said Paul Matthys, Cass County Electric Cooperative President and CEO.

Minnkota Power Cooperative is committed to delivering safe, reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible electricity across North Dakota:

“We’re proud to work with Applied Digital to help bring a state-of-the-art data center to our region. This project represents an important opportunity to drive technological progress and create lasting benefits for our cooperative membership,” said Mac McLennan, Minnkota Power Cooperative President and CEO. “As we work toward a final agreement, our focus is on making sure it is integrated in a way that strengthens our communities, supports reliable and responsible power, and builds on the strong foundation we have established through more than 85 years of service to this region.”

The Greater Fargo Moorhead Economic Development Corporation (GFMEDC) works to cultivate an economic environment where all people and organizations flourish:

"The Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC is excited about the opportunity to support this preliminary dynamic project for our region,” stated Joe Raso, GFMEDC President & CEO. "Having worked with Applied Digital on various aspects of this project, including a recent visit to their Ellendale, ND, datacenter currently under construction, we can see the substantial economic benefit this project will have for the greater Fargo region. EDC staff have already conducted various workforce assessments that show our market’s ability to provide the talent needed to support this facility and are confident Applied Digital’s operations will fit nicely with our region’s talent pool.”

With abundant power resources, including renewable, available land, and a growing base of technical talent, we believe North Dakota is rapidly becoming a preferred destination for AI infrastructure. Polaris Forge 2 is expected to advance Applied Digital’s mission to build sustainable, high-performance digital infrastructure that powers innovation and delivers lasting economic and community benefits.

“Applied Digital’s investment in Ellendale is a model for rural innovation—bringing high-tech infrastructure, workforce housing, and long-term economic opportunity to North Dakota,” said Commerce Commissioner, Chris Schilken. “Their expansion into Harwood builds on that success and is exactly the kind of strategic partnership and investment that strengthens our communities and positions our state for the future.”

“This groundbreaking marks the start of a project that will put Harwood on the map as a key player in the future of AI infrastructure. Applied Digital’s investment reflects confidence in our people and our potential, and we’re proud to be part of this moment,” said Blake Hankey, Mayor of Harwood.

About Applied Digital
Applied Digital (Nasdaq: APLD) named Best Data Center in the Americas 2025 by Datacloud — designs, builds, and operates high-performance, sustainably engineered data centers and colocation services for artificial intelligence, cloud, networking, and blockchain workloads. Headquartered in Dallas, TX, and founded in 2021, the company combines hyperscale expertise, proprietary waterless cooling, and rapid deployment capabilities to deliver secure, scalable compute at industry-leading speed and efficiency, while creating economic opportunities in underserved communities through its award-winning Polaris Forge AI Factory model.

Learn more at applieddigital.com or follow @APLDdigital on X and LinkedIn.

CAUTION ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, future operating and financial performance, product development, market position, business strategy and objectives and future financing plans. These statements use words, and variations of words, such as “will,” “continue,” “build,” “future,” “increase,” “drive,” “believe,” “look,” “ahead,” “confident,” “deliver,” “outlook,” “expect,” “project” and “predict.” Other examples of forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, (i) statements that reflect perspectives and expectations regarding Polaris Forge 1 and Polaris Forge 2 campus development, (ii) statements about the HPC industry and demand for AI capacity, (iii) statements of Company plans and objectives, including our evolving business model, or estimates or predictions of actions by suppliers, (iv) statements of future economic performance, and (v) statements of assumptions underlying other statements and statements about the Company or its business. You are cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations of future events and thus are inherently subject to uncertainty. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from the Company’s expectations and projections. These risks, uncertainties, and other factors include: our ability to begin or complete construction of our HPC data centers; changes to AI and HPC infrastructure needs and their impact on future plans; risks associated with the leasing business, including those associated with counterparties; costs related to the HPC operations and strategy; our ability to timely deliver any services required in connection with completion of installation under the lease agreements; our ability to raise additional capital to fund ongoing and future data center construction and operations; our ability to obtain financing of the lease agreements on acceptable financing terms, or at all; our dependence on principal customers, including our ability to execute and perform our obligations under our leases with key customers, including without limitation, the lease agreements; our ability to timely and successfully build hosting facilities with the appropriate contractual margins and efficiencies; power or other supply disruptions and equipment failures; the inability to comply with regulations, developments and changes in regulations; cash flow and access to capital; availability of financing to continue to grow our business; decline in demand for our products and services; maintenance of third party relationships; and conditions in the debt and equity capital markets. A further list and description of these risks, uncertainties and other factors can be found in the company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including in the sections captioned “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors,” and in the Company's subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Copies of these filings are available online at www.sec.gov, on the Company’s website (www.applieddigital.com) under “Investors,” or upon request from the Company. Information in this release is as of the dates and time periods indicated herein, and the Company does not undertake to update any of the information contained in these materials, except as required by law.

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Investor Relations Contacts 
Matt Glover or Ralf Esper
Gateway Group, Inc. 
(949) 574-3860 
APLD@gateway-grp.com

Media Contact 
Buffy Harakidas, EVP 
JSA (Jaymie Scotto & Associates) 
(856) 264-7827 
jsa_applied@jsa.net

Applied Digital Site Rendering

Applied Digital Polaris Forge 2 Site Rendering

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