Data Center View - June 18, 2025 - Applied Digital inks $7B data center deal with CoreWeave

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NEWS ROUNDUP

LEASE SIGNED: Applied Digital inks $7 billion AI data center deal. Applied Digital has signed two 15-year lease agreements with AI cloud provider CoreWeave, totaling 250MW of IT load at its Ellendale, North Dakota data center campus — a deal valued at approximately $7 billion over the contract term. Under the agreement, CoreWeave will gain access to two facilities: the first 100MW center is expected to go live in Q4 2025, followed by a 150MW center in mid-2026. CoreWeave also holds an option for a third 150MW facility, which could come online in 2027. Wes Cummins, CEO of Applied Digital, called Ellendale “a launchpad for the future of AI infrastructure,” emphasizing the strategic nature of the deal to meet “exponential AI demand.”

DEVELOPMENT: Bit Digital acquires factory in North Carolina for data center campus. Bit Digital has acquired a massive 96-acre industrial site in Madison, North Carolina, with plans to convert the 1 million sq ft former textile factory into a flagship AI data center campus. The site was purchased for $45 million in cash from Unifi, which closed its Madison plant earlier this year after 30+ years of operation. Bit Digital plans to invest over $1 billion into redeveloping the facility through its GPU cloud subsidiary, WhiteFiber, creating more than 60 new jobs in the region. Phase I of the development will go live by the end of 2025, with 24MW of power expected from Duke Energy by September and an additional 75MW to follow. The site could potentially scale to 200MW. CEO Sam Tabar called the site a “rare asset” and a foundational step in scaling the firm’s AI infrastructure platform.

FINANCING: Vantage Data Centers secures $5 billion in green loans. Vantage Data Centers has secured $5 billion in new green financing to accelerate its North American expansion amid surging demand for hyperscale infrastructure. The new capital includes:

• $2.25 billion in debt financing to fully fund construction of Vantage’s New Albany, Ohio campus, and

• $2.75 billion in additional capital through an upsizing of an existing $3 billion corporate green loan, bringing the total facility to $5.75 billion.

Located just outside Columbus, the New Albany campus spans 70 acres and will host three pre-leased data centers totaling 192MW and 1.5 million sq ft. The first facility is expected to go live by December 2025. The $2.25 billion construction loan is one of the first in the data center sector to receive private investment-grade ratings from two major rating agencies. MUFG and Société Générale led the financing. Separately, the corporate facility upsizing—led by Wells Fargo Securities, TD Securities, Truist, and Scotiabank—will support future data center development and land acquisitions. “This capital allows us to scale quickly and meet the soaring digital infrastructure needs across North America,” said Rich Cosgray, SVP of Global Capital Markets at Vantage.

PEOPLE MOVES: CyrusOne appoints new EVP & Chief Strategy Officer. CyrusOne has announced the appointment of Krupal Raval as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, a newly created role focused on leading the company’s U.S. development program and enhancing strategic partnerships with hyperscale clients. “With more than a dozen data centers under construction and a robust pipeline ahead, Krupal’s strategic insight and global relationships will be pivotal to our next phase of growth,” said Eric Schwartz, CEO of CyrusOne.

PEOPLE MOVES: Riot Platforms appoints new Chief Data Center Officer. Riot Platforms has named Jonathan Gibbs as its new Chief Data Center Officer (CDCO) to spearhead the company’s expansion into non-Bitcoin-related digital infrastructure. Gibbs will lead strategy and operations for Riot’s new data center platform, aimed at serving hyperscale and enterprise customers. This strategic move marks a major step in Riot’s diversification efforts, building on its vertically integrated Bitcoin mining foundation to tap into surging demand for cloud computing and AI infrastructure. The new platform will leverage Riot’s substantial land and power assets — including over 1.7 GW of immediately available capacity. “Jonathan brings the experience and relationships we need to scale aggressively,” said Jason Les, CEO of Riot. “His track record developing over 1 GW of global data center capacity makes him the ideal leader for our next phase.”

READ: Wall Street is all in on data centers.

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