Agreement establishes a strategic foothold in an emerging European AI market while Applied Digital remains focused on executing its U.S. development pipeline
DALLAS, Oct. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applied Digital (NASDAQ: APLD), a U.S. based designer, developer, owner and operator of large-scale, purpose-built data centers to support high-performance computing (“HPC”) workloads, including artificial intelligence (“AI”), machine learning, and other accelerated-compute applications, today announced it has entered into an agreement providing access to up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of potential power capacity in Finland, representing the Company’s first development opportunity outside of the United States.
With this agreement, the Company plans to build a large-scale AI Factory campus capable of scaling to as much as 1 GW. Initial power availability is anticipated beginning in 2028. Applied Digital has begun marketing the site and is currently engaged in discussions with leading global hyperscale customers.
While Applied Digital’s near-term development strategy and execution priorities remain firmly centered on its growing U.S. portfolio, Finland represents a measured first step toward selectively extending the Company’s platform into attractive international markets over time. The agreement was structured to provide meaningful long-term growth potential while limiting the Company’s initial exposure and maintaining disciplined capital deployment.
“Applied Digital has built its platform around identifying the right power in the right markets and turning that power into operational AI capacity,” said Wes Cummins, Chairman and CEO of Applied Digital. “Finland stood out because many of the characteristics that have supported our success in North Dakota are also present in the Nordics — a favorable climate, an attractive energy ecosystem, strong connectivity and the ability to develop at meaningful scale.”
Cummins continued, “This is a deliberate first step, not a change in our strategy. Our focus remains firmly on executing the projects in front of us in the United States. At the same time, as we continue building Applied Digital into a category leader in AI infrastructure, we believe it is important to selectively secure compelling sites that can extend our growth runway over the long term.”
Finland has emerged as an increasingly attractive market for hyperscale and AI development, supported by its cooler climate, established energy and digital networks, and growing investment from global technology leaders. Applied Digital believes these characteristics align closely with the development principles that underpin its U.S. portfolio: securing scalable power and land in markets where AI capacity can be developed efficiently, responsibly and repeatedly.
The Finland campus represents the first potential application of Applied Digital’s AI Factory campus development model outside the U.S. The Company intends to advance the project in a disciplined manner, with future investment and development decisions tied to customer demand, commercial milestones and the achievement of necessary regulatory and development requirements.
“Our ability to scale is not about planting flags in as many markets as possible,” Cummins said. “It is about identifying exceptional sites and applying the same disciplined model repeatedly. We have demonstrated that model across our U.S. portfolio. Finland gives us the opportunity to begin proving that platform can travel.”
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.