AVAIO Digital plans a large-scale AI-ready data center and power campus near Little Rock, Arkansas, with capacity that could scale to 1 gigawatt. The project, known as the Leo Data Hub, anchors a multi-phase development in Pulaski County designed to support hyperscale cloud and artificial intelligence workloads. The campus will integrate compute, networking, storage, and on-site power infrastructure, with construction of the first phase slated to begin in the first quarter of 2026 and energization targeted for June 2027.
AVAIO Digital expects an initial combined investment of $6 billion from the company and its customers, rising to more than $21 billion over full build-out. The developer has secured a contract with Entergy Arkansas for 150 MW of grid power and anticipates demand growing toward 1 GW as the campus expands. The 760-acre site includes provisions for on-site natural gas infrastructure to accelerate deployment of behind-the-meter generation alongside grid supply.
State and local officials highlighted workforce and economic impacts, including more than 500 permanent operations jobs over five years and thousands of construction roles. The campus location near Little Rock offers access to long-haul and regional fiber routes connecting to Dallas, Atlanta, Memphis, and emerging edge markets across the Southeast and Midwest. The project received support from the Arkansas Economic Development Commission as part of broader efforts to attract large-scale digital infrastructure investments.
• Campus scale: Up to 1 GW of total power demand at full build-out
• Power plan: 150 MW contracted grid power with on-site generation options
• Land footprint: 760 acres supporting multi-building expansion
• Investment: $6 billion initial phase; more than $21 billion over full development
• Timeline: Groundbreaking in early 2026; first phase energized by June 2027
• Jobs: 500+ permanent operations roles plus thousands of construction jobs
“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.
🌐 Analysis
Large, power-dense AI campuses increasingly combine contracted utility supply with on-site generation to manage timelines and reliability, a pattern seen across recent hyperscale developments in the central and southern United States. AVAIO’s 1-GW trajectory places Arkansas alongside states such as Texas and Mississippi that are positioning land, power, and regulatory alignment to compete for next-generation AI infrastructure.
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