Applied Digital (APLD +3.45%) just added $2.15 billion in new debt at a 6.75% interest rate. That brings total debt to roughly $5 billion, up from just $468 million a little over a year ago. The artificial intelligence (AI)-focused data center operator is betting big on its $16 billion pipeline of contracted lease revenue. But that pipeline has a problem that investors need to understand.
Applied Digital's debt has ballooned to $5 billion
Of the $16 billion, $11 billion comes from CoreWeave -- an AI cloud computing company carrying over $21 billion in debt that lost $1.2 billion last year. It's growing revenue fast, but its debt is growing faster.
Image source: Getty Images.
A chain of risk that leads to OpenAI
CoreWeave, in turn, depends heavily on OpenAI, another deeply unprofitable AI company. The ChatGPT creator projects $14 billion in losses for 2026 and total losses of $115 billion through 2029. Those numbers are staggering.
Yes, OpenAI is still able to raise funds, but it is becoming increasingly harder, and the headlines are often misleading. Its latest $110 billion funding round comes with some major strings attached from its financers, and only $25 billion is confirmed as near-term cash.
NASDAQ: APLD
Key Data Points
What this means for Applied Digital investors
Applied Digital's pipeline depends on CoreWeave staying solvent, which depends on OpenAI continuing to attract investor capital at a pace that has no precedent, all while the larger macro picture is getting worse. That's a lot of faith baked into the potential success of one stock.
