OpenAI Commits $40 Billion to Expand AI Infrastructure with Five New Data Centers

OpenAI has announced a significant expansion of its "Stargate" project, committing approximately 40 billion dollars to develop five new data center sites across the United States. This initiative is part of a broader commitment to invest 50 billion dollars in AI infrastructure within the country over the next four years. The new data centers will be located in Texas, New Mexico, and Ohio, with a combined power generation capacity of 7 GW, equivalent to the power output of some cities.

The expansion includes three sites in Texas, New Mexico, and an undisclosed location in the Midwest, which will be developed in collaboration with Oracle. These sites will have a total installed capacity exceeding 5.5 GW, including an additional 600 MW capacity at the original Abilene site. This follows an agreement reached in July between OpenAI and Oracle to develop up to 4.5 GW of additional "Stargate" capacity, which accounts for approximately 30 billion dollars of the newly announced 40 billion dollar commitment.

Two additional sites in Ohio and Texas will be developed in partnership with SoftBank, with an expected total installed capacity of 1.5 GW within the next 18 months. This marks SoftBank's first involvement in the joint development of the "Stargate" project. The Texas facilities will be constructed in collaboration with SoftBank-backed SB Energy to provide power for the region. The Ohio site is expected to become operational next year.

The "Stargate" project, initially launched by a limited liability company (LLC) with OpenAI and SoftBank as equity partners, has since expanded to include collaborations with Oracle and other suppliers outside the LLC framework. The project has also extended beyond the United States to regions such as Europe and the Middle East.

The new "Stargate" sites will be financed through a combination of cash and debt. OpenAI believes that a new 10 billion dollar investment agreement with NVIDIA will facilitate easier access to debt financing. The company's CEO emphasized the importance of infrastructure development in achieving its goal of providing superior technology, foundational products, and services.

OpenAI is one of several tech companies significantly investing in expanding its data center footprint both domestically and internationally to support AI development. Other major players are expected to spend over 344 billion dollars this year, with a significant portion allocated to building data centers necessary for running AI models.

The rapid investment in AI infrastructure has raised concerns about a potential market bubble, reminiscent of the dot-com bubble from 25 years ago. While acknowledging the possibility of a bubble, OpenAI's CEO remains confident in the value of the technology and hopes to invest tens of billions of dollars in AI infrastructure.

The new "Stargate" data center project is expected to create tens of thousands of new jobs in the United States. OpenAI continues to evaluate additional locations for further expansion of its data centers, emphasizing the need to avoid a situation of extreme resource scarcity.