$6 billion data center to locate near Little Rock
AVAIO Digital Partners announced Monday (Jan. 12) it will locate a new $6 billion data center hub near Little Rock.
It will be known as AVAIO Digital Leo and will be built off of 145th Street, south of Little Rock. The 760-acre campus will host computer, networking, data storage technologies and power infrastructure that underpin cloud computing and artificial intelligence applications. The campus will be built out in multiple phases.
“AVAIO Digital’s $6 billion data center 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,” said Gov. Sarah Sanders. “Just last year, Arkansas led the way and passed legislation that reduced the regulatory timeline for new energy projects by more than half and offered new incentives to data center investments. This announcement confirms that cutting red tape and cultivating a pro-business, pro-growth environment is not only appealing to companies; it is what makes Arkansas one of the best states to live and work.”
The new data center campus is expected to ultimately create more than 500 new full-time permanent operations jobs over the next five years as the campus is built out. In addition, the construction phase will bring thousands of new jobs in the region.
AVAIO is contracted with Entergy Arkansas for 150 MW of power, but the company anticipates power demand of up to 1 GW as the facility grows.
Construction of the first phase of the project is expected to start in the first quarter of 2026 and will be complete and energized in June 2027.
“It is our intention that this extraordinary 760-acre site in the Little Rock area will be both a major pole of data center capacity and an engine of sustained economic and technological momentum for Arkansas,” said Mark McComiskey, CEO of AVAIO Digital. “With a first phase investment of $6 billion and over $21 billion through full development, infrastructure of this scale requires support from communities and partners, and we thank Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Secretary of Commerce Hugh McDonald, and Entergy Arkansas for helping make this possible.”
The company expects to break ground early this year.
The Leo Data Hub is part of AVAIO Digital’s expanding portfolio of hyperscale projects across the U.S. and Western Europe. AVAIO Digital has secured more than 1.2 GWs of power from utilities at campuses in northern California, Virginia, Arkansas and Mississippi and is moving to build out this full capacity with more than 450 MWs being energized in 2027.