Macquarie will invest up to $5 billion in data centers being built by artificial-intelligence infrastructure company Applied Digital, adding to the Australian bank’s substantial AI-related investments.

Investment firm Macquarie is to invest billions of dollars into data center firm Applied Digital. First reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by the company, Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) is set to invest $5 billion into Applied, a cryptomining firm pivoting to AI and HPC data centers.

Macquarie’s funds will help Applied Digital complete construction of an AI data centre in North Dakota, and potentially finance additional ones.

Shares of Applied Digital were trading sharply higher after the operator of artificial-intelligence data centers announced it would be receiving up to $5 billion from Macquarie Asset Management. Applied Digital stock gained 25% to $9.

Australia's Macquarie on Tuesday agreed to take a 15% stake in Applied Digital's high-performance computing business and invest up to $5 billion in the company's artificial intelligence data centers amid booming AI demand.

Applied Digital's $5 billion investment announcement is contingent on closing a 100 MW deal with a hyperscaler, which remains uncertain. Explore more details here.