Applied Digital secures $300M bridge loan for AI data center

Applied Digital announced the closing of a $300 million senior secured bridge facility led by Goldman Sachs, per the company press release dated May 4, 2026. The facility is a 364-day term loan bearing interest at SOFR plus 275 basis points, the release says. The loan is described as prepayable at any time without premium and secured by the assets of the Polaris Forge 1 project in Ellendale, North Dakota, the release adds. The financing is intended to fund continued development and construction of Applied Digital's third AI data center at the Polaris Forge 1 campus, and the company states it expects to seek additional financing to fund the completion of construction. The release includes a direct quote from Saidal Mohmand, Chief Financial Officer: "This financing supports the continued development of our third AI data center at Polaris Forge 1 and reflects our disciplined approach to funding projects in line with construction timelines."

The press release specifies the loan structure as a $300 million term loan with a 364-day maturity and interest at SOFR + 275 basis points, and it states the loan is secured by project assets and prepayable without premium. Applied Digital's corporate description in the release highlights its Polaris Forge AI Factory model and proprietary waterless cooling as part of its data center offering. These descriptions are presented as background in the company filing and public announcement rather than as new technical disclosures about the buildout itself.

Industry-pattern observations: Developers of large AI-capable facilities commonly use bridge financing to align capital availability with construction schedules while they finalize longer-term debt or lease commitments. Bridge facilities with roughly one-year tenors and SOFR-linked pricing at a spread similar to 275 basis points are a frequent structure for projects that expect to convert to long-term financing or secure customer pre-leases. For practitioners, this means near-term project execution hinges on managing construction milestones, equipment procurement, and interim liquidity rather than on immediate revenue from deployed racks.

Additional colocated capacity in a market like North Dakota is notable because sites with available grid capacity, competitive power rates, and suitable climate characteristics remain constrained in many regions. Bank-led project financing by a major arranger such as Goldman Sachs indicates continuing institutional appetite for AI infrastructure assets, according to public reporting on similar transactions. For ML operations and infrastructure teams, new data center capacity can influence sourcing options for colocated GPU/HPC deployments and negotiation dynamics for power and interconnect pricing in the region.

Key indicators for observers include whether Applied Digital secures long-term financing or converts the bridge into term debt, announcements of customer pre-leases or power purchase agreements for Polaris Forge 1, and construction milestone filings or permitting updates. Public financial filings and subsequent press releases will also clarify the timeline for bringing capacity online and any changes to capital structure. These items will determine timing and practical availability of new AI compute capacity for practitioners seeking colocated deployments.