Stargate AI Project: OpenAI and Oracle's Bold Move with NVIDIA Chips in Texas Takes Flight

The ambitious Stargate AI infrastructure project quietly begins its voyage in Texas. Jointly led by OpenAI and Oracle, this multi-party collaboration plans to deploy 64,000 of NVIDIA's cutting-edge GB200 AI chips at a newly constructed data center in Abilene. This initiative demonstrates the tech giants' pursuit of advanced computational capabilities to dominate the future of artificial intelligence.

According to the latest updates, this substantial project is set for completion by the end of 2026. The first milestone involves the deployment of 16,000 GB200 chips this summer, underscoring the project's considerable computing potential. Despite appearing as an initial deployment phase, the project's projected scale is profoundly significant.

Since its formal announcement at a White House event earlier this year, the Stargate project has captured the tech community's attention. Besides the Texas facility, OpenAI, in collaboration with SoftBank, is evaluating potential future locations for data centers in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Oregon, with Salt Lake City also under consideration.

In the intensely competitive AI sector, Elon Musk's xAI has also been active, recently finalizing a $50 billion agreement with Dell Technologies to establish an AI supercomputing center in Memphis. Meanwhile, Meta plans to construct the equivalent of 600,000 NVIDIA H100 chips' worth of computing power by the end of 2024, evidencing the fierce competition among tech giants in the AI domain.

The expense of individual GB200 chips for the inaugural Stargate facility is estimated to be substantial. Although NVIDIA has not disclosed the exact price of the GB200, its CEO, Jensen Huang, previously indicated a lower-performing model's price ranged between $30,000 and $40,000 per chip, highlighting the significant financial commitment required by the project.

As AI technology continually evolves, the strategic placement and construction of data centers like Stargate will be crucial for future leadership in technological innovation. Although neither NVIDIA nor Oracle commented on the project's specifics, the Stargate initiative promises to lay a new foundation for global AI advancement.