New AI data center buildout being done in secret location to avoid backlash from local residents — ex-crypto mining company doesn’t want publicity for its latest project

A former blockchain mining company that pivoted to AI is keeping its latest data center construction under wraps. Applied Digital, formerly known as Applied Blockchain, announced that it has broken ground on a 430 MW facility somewhere in the Southern United States, although The Register reports that it is yet to publicly reveal its location. The CEO claims that it’s doing this to protect the small town in which it’s located, especially as he deems that they’re not ready for “national media attention.”

“We’re not trying to hide anything,” Applied Digital chief Wes Cummins told the publication. “You go to some of these small locations… It’s not like these towns have really sophisticated public communications departments with people that handle all of this. It’s really a sensitivity for them, not for us.” Nevertheless, the company intends to name the data center’s location by February this year. “The public is going to find out everything about it. It’s not being done to stop the public from finding out about it at all,” he added. “We’ve changed our approach with these locations themselves… When you’re dealing in towns of hundreds of people, sometimes that’s a bit overwhelming.”