Applied Digital to Build $3.6 Billion AI Factory Campus in Louisiana

May 27, 2026
Applied Digital Corporation announced plans to construct a $3.6 billion AI factory campus in Rapides Parish, Louisiana. The facility, named Delta Forge 1, will support large-scale AI training and create hundreds of new jobs in the region.
Applied Digital to Build $3.6 Billion AI Factory Campus in Louisiana

Applied Digital Corporation has announced plans to develop a $3.6 billion artificial intelligence factory campus in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, according to a state announcement. The project, named Delta Forge 1, will be built on approximately 300 acres and designed for large scale AI training and inference workloads.

The site will include two facilities providing a combined 300 megawatts of critical IT load. Construction began in January 2026, with initial operations expected to start in mid 2027. The facility will use Applied Digital's closed loop cooling technology to support high density computing environments.

The campus will create about 200 full time on site jobs and more than 1,000 construction jobs at peak activity. Louisiana Economic Development estimates an additional 218 indirect jobs related to the project. Power for the campus will be supplied by Cleco, marking the largest economic development project in the utility's history.

Applied Digital qualified for Louisiana's state and local sales and use tax exemption on purchases of data center equipment under Act 730 of the 2024 Regular Legislative Session.

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