AVAIO Digital Partners has announced plans to develop a data centre and power campus in Pulaski County near Little Rock, Arkansas.
The facility, named AVAIO Digital Leo, will see an initial investment of $6bn from AVAIO Digital and its partners towards infrastructure, power, and tenant deployments.
AVAIO Digital Leo aims to support cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Construction on the first phase is anticipated to start in the ongoing first quarter, with completion and energisation expected around mid-2027.
The project includes a contract with Entergy Arkansas for 150 megawatts (MW) of power, with potential expansion up to 1 gigawatt (GW) as the campus develops.
AVAIO Digital Leo will house computing, networking, data storage systems, and supporting power infrastructure for cloud computing and AI workloads.
The company expects the campus to create over 500 permanent operational jobs within five years and generate thousands of construction roles during development.
The campus site covers 760 acres, offering capacity for multiple buildings and on-site power generation.
Its location provides connectivity through regional and long-haul fibre routes to major data centre hubs including Dallas, Atlanta, and Memphis.
The area also benefits from established natural gas infrastructure that supports on-site energy solutions.
Design plans for the campus include technologies to improve energy efficiency such as water-efficient cooling systems, rainwater recapture, rooftop solar panels, and advanced cooling system economisation.
The development aims to limit impact on surrounding communities by integrating natural forest buffers and landscaped terrain.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: “AVAIO Digital's $6bn data centre hub represents the largest economic investment in Arkansas' history and sets the Natural State up to become a technology powerhouse that can compete with any state in the nation.”
AVAIO Digital’s expansion in Arkansas forms part of its wider portfolio of large-scale projects across the US and Western Europe.
AVAIO Digital CEO Mark McComiskey said: “With a first phase investment of $6bn and over $21bn through full development, infrastructure of this scale requires support from communities and partners, and we thank Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald, and Entergy Arkansas for helping make this possible.”
The company has secured over 1.2GW of utility power for campuses in Northern California, Arkansas, Virginia, and Mississippi, with more than 450MW scheduled to become operational in 2027.
