OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank to Build Five AI Data Centers in US, Investing $400 Billion

OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank Group have announced plans to construct five new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers in the United States. This initiative is part of the ambitious "Stargate" project, which aims to advance AI infrastructure significantly. The project, launched in January by Donald Trump, involves a private-sector-led effort with an investment of up to 500 billion dollars. This substantial investment underscores the strategic importance of AI, a technology that has garnered significant attention from both the government and leading tech companies.

OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, revealed that it will collaborate with Oracle to build three new data centers in Texas's Shackelford County, New Mexico's Doña Ana County, and an undisclosed location in the Midwest. Additionally, OpenAI will partner with SoftBank and its affiliates to construct two more data centers in Ohio's Lodi and Texas's Milam County. These new facilities, along with the expansion of the existing data center in Abilene, Texas, and ongoing projects with CoreWeave, are expected to increase the total computational power of the "Stargate" project to nearly 7 gigawatts (GW) over the next three years, with an investment exceeding 400 billion dollars. The ultimate goal of the 500 billion dollar "Stargate" project is to achieve a total data center computational power of 10 GW.

The CEO of OpenAI emphasized that building the necessary infrastructure to support AI technology is crucial for realizing its full potential. This announcement is expected to create 25,000 on-site jobs. The day before, Nvidia announced a potential investment of up to 100 billion dollars in OpenAI, including the supply of data center chips. Insiders have revealed that OpenAI and its partners plan to lease chips through debt financing to support the "Stargate" project. Both OpenAI and its investor, Microsoft, are among the tech giants investing heavily in data centers to support AI services like ChatGPT and Copilot. The strategic importance of AI in sensitive areas such as defense has made it a focal point for the Trump administration.