DALLAS – September 24, 2026 – Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD), a designer, builder, and operator of high-performance, sustainably engineered data centers and colocation services for artificial intelligence, cloud, networking, and blockchain workloads, today announced that its previously disclosed Delta Forge 2 AI Factory campus will be located in Brookwood, Alabama.
WHAT:
The campus represents an investment of more than $3.2 billion by Applied Digital and its tenant, and is expected to deliver significant long-term benefits to Brookwood and the surrounding region. Construction employment is expected to peak at more than 1,000 workers, while the completed campus is expected to support more than 100 full-time employees onsite. Operations are currently anticipated to begin in 2028.
Applied Digital previously announced a 210 MW critical IT load lease at Delta Forge 2 with a U.S. based high investment-grade hyperscaler.
Delta Forge 2 represents the fifth campus in Applied Digital’s expanding AI Factory platform and further demonstrates the company’s strategy of deploying a repeatable campus model across multiple markets. Across its contracted portfolio, Applied Digital has approximately 1.4 GW of critical IT load under long-term lease agreements across five AI Factory campuses, representing approximately $36.2 billion of contracted revenue over initial 15-year lease terms.
WHERE:
Delta Forge 2 will span approximately 1.26 million square feet across roughly 160 acres of a nearly 1,300-acre site in Brookwood. The project is expected to become the single largest taxpayer in Brookwood’s history.
Applied Digital is committing $270 million in community benefits payments to the Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority (TCEDA) over 20 years, in addition to its educational tax contributions. This annual revenue stream will directly support local entities whose taxes are being abated, including the cities of Brookwood, Tuscaloosa and Northport, Tuscaloosa County, the Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission, and DCH Health System. Each entity will receive a share proportional to its current local tax distribution.
In addition, the project is expected to generate approximately $131.5 million in education taxes over the same period, along with ongoing sales, use, and lodging tax revenue associated with the development and operations. By strengthening the local tax base, the project will also support long-term economic growth throughout the surrounding region and the state of Alabama.
WHY:
Delta Forge 2 is expected to bring considerable local employment and construction activity to the Brookwood community. The campus will integrate Applied Digital’s closed-loop cooling technology and high-power density infrastructure, purpose-built for the compute densities required by large-scale AI training and inference workloads. As with its other AI campuses, Applied Digital will pay the full cost to serve its energy needs, so costs are not shifted to other Alabama Power customers.
Applied Digital expects to partner with local and state workforce organizations, community colleges, and other partners to prepare skilled workers for careers supporting advanced AI infrastructure, including electricians, HVAC technicians, welders, and fiber technicians. Additionally, Applied Digital plans to extend its Applied Digital Cares program to Brookwood, supporting community improvement projects and charitable investments and building on the company’s commitment to creating lasting, positive impact in the communities surrounding its AI Factory campuses.
To see Applied Digital’s community partnership model in practice, view the documentary series Behind the Build, which offers a ground-level, transparent look at how the company constructs its AI Factory campuses alongside the communities they call home.
Quotes from Applied Digital and Local Leadership
“Delta Forge 2 reflects the model we are building across Applied Digital – repeatable AI infrastructure delivered at scale and built for the long term,” said Wes Cummins, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Digital. “But our success also depends on the success of the communities where we operate. We partner with communities where our investment genuinely matters, and where the resulting jobs, tax base, and long-term economic activity can have a measurable impact. We have a proven track record of delivering on our commitments to our host communities, and we look forward to bringing that same commitment to Brookwood.”
“For our community, this project is about creating opportunities for local families, strengthening our schools and positioning Brookwood for the future,” said City of Brookwood Mayor Joe Barger. “We anticipate that Applied Digital will be a good neighbor and a long-term community partner, and expect this $3.2 billion investment to benefit Brookwood residents for generations to come.”
MEDIA CONTACT:
For interview requests with Applied Digital executives or regional project directors, please contact jsa_applied@jsa.net.
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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, closed-loop 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 AI Factory franchise model.
Learn more at applieddigital.com or follow @APLDdigital on X and LinkedIn.
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