Empery Digital Invests $20 Million in Cardinal Data Power for West Texas AI Data Center Campus

Bitcoin treasury firm Empery Digital has invested $20 million in powered data center developer Cardinal Data Power (CDP), gaining an approximately 8% stake in the company. The investment is part of a $70 million Series A funding round led by Hood River Capital Management, according to an SEC filing dated July 20.

The capital will support CDP’s inaugural data center campus in West Texas, where the developer has signed a letter of intent for a 750-megawatt (MW) first phase. The proposed campus spans more than 3,500 acres and is expected to deliver its first power in 2027. CDP said the site could reach approximately 1 gigawatt (GW) of gross capacity by 2029 and supports expansion beyond 5 GW over time. The company has also reserved reciprocating engine generation capacity and services from an unnamed equipment manufacturer through an agreement with an independent power producer.

“Cardinal Data Power is uniquely positioned to bring generation, transmission, and management of power solutions to the insatiable energy demands of the AI infrastructure build-out,” said Ryan Lane, co-CEO of Empery Digital. “This investment reflects the continued strength of our partnership with Hunt Properties and the differentiated investment opportunities this relationship is generating for Empery Digital shareholders,” Lane added.

Headquartered in Dallas, CDP develops behind-the-meter data center campuses for AI and high-performance computing customers. Its development model combines on-site generation equipment, natural gas supplies, pipeline capacity, electrical infrastructure, and large land holdings. CDP was established by the Lyda Hunt Allred and Barbara Crow Hunt families and their respective family offices, Cavallo Holdings and Stratford Bridge Holdings. The Hunt Properties-affiliated developer is also working on other large-scale projects across West Texas and West Virginia.

The deal follows Empery’s $65 million investment announced in June for a 25% interest in a private entity managed by Hunt Properties. That entity is seeking to acquire a 150 MW power-intensive industrial facility in the U.S. Midwest and convert it into an AI data center, with potential expansion to around 300 MW. A Hunt affiliate has signed a non-binding letter of intent for a triple-net lease with an unnamed compute provider, and Empery said the proposed agreement could generate up to $1 billion in lease payments, with the potential to increase if capacity is expanded. The earlier investment is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.

The latest investment underscores the growing appetite among treasury and alternative asset firms for direct exposure to AI infrastructure development, particularly in regions with abundant land and power capacity like West Texas. As hyperscale AI demand drives unprecedented energy consumption, developers like CDP are increasingly turning to integrated power-and-campus models to deliver capacity at scale.