Macquarie Asset Management has committed up to $5 billion in funding to Applied Digital Corporation to accelerate the development of high-performance computing data centers, with a primary focus on the 400 MW Ellendale HPC Campus.
Deal structure and immediate impact: The financing agreement centers on a strategic partnership between Applied Digital and Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) that could reshape the high-performance computing landscape.
- MAM will invest $2.25 million per megawatt of leased capacity through Applied Digital’s subsidiary APLD HPC Holdings LLC
- The initial funding could provide up to $900 million for the Ellendale project’s complete build-out
- The agreement includes provisions to repay $180 million in bridge debt and recover $300 million in equity investments
Key financial terms: The financing structure combines preferred equity with significant future funding commitments.
- The preferred equity carries a 12.75% annual dividend and guarantees a minimum 1.80x capital return
- MAM will receive 15% of APLDH’s fully diluted common equity at issuance
- The agreement includes a 30-month right of first refusal for MAM on $4.1 billion in future data center funding
- APLDH can redeem MAM’s equity position after the fifth anniversary of closing
Strategic expansion plans: Applied Digital aims to establish itself as a leading player in the high-performance computing infrastructure sector.
- The funding could support the construction of over 2.0 GW of HPC data center capacity
- Applied Digital will maintain an 85% ownership stake in both existing and future HPC assets
- The company is positioning itself specifically in Tier 3 data center infrastructure
- The development focuses on markets with strategic power access across North America
Critical conditions: The deal’s execution depends on specific market achievements and customer commitments.
- Closing requires securing a 100 MW lease with a hyperscale customer for the Ellendale HPC facility
- MAM will provide an initial $225 million investment
- Additional funding releases will be tied to securing further lease commitments
- The company must demonstrate capacity to support demanding AI and HPC applications at scale
Market positioning and competitive advantage: The unique attributes of Applied Digital’s strategy and infrastructure position the company for significant growth in the evolving AI landscape.
Rather than treating this simply as a financing deal, the partnership between Applied Digital and MAM represents a strategic positioning in the rapidly growing high-performance computing sector, particularly as AI workloads drive unprecedented demand for specialized data center infrastructure. The success of this venture will likely depend on Applied Digital’s ability to execute on its technical vision while securing major hyperscale customers in an increasingly competitive market.
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...