In a landmark move that solidifies the race for AI dominance, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank have announced a major expansion of their “Stargate” data center network. This massive infrastructure initiative, valued at an ambitious $500 billion, is designed to provide the computational power required to train and run the next generation of AI models. The project, first launched in January, is reportedly ahead of schedule, with a goal of achieving 10 gigawatts of capacity by the end of 2025.
The latest announcement details plans for five new AI data center campuses across the United States. Three of these sites—in Shackelford County, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and an undisclosed location in the Midwest—are being developed through a partnership with Oracle, which signed a landmark $300 billion cloud deal with OpenAI. The remaining two sites, in Lordstown, Ohio, and Milam County, Texas, are being built in collaboration with SoftBank and its affiliate, SB Energy.
The combined capacity from these new sites, along with the flagship campus in Abilene, Texas, and other ongoing projects, will bring Stargate’s total planned capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts and its investment to over $400 billion in the next three years. This accelerated buildout is a response to the ever-increasing demand for compute power, as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman noted that the “promise of AI” can only be fulfilled if the necessary infrastructure is in place. The collaboration also highlights OpenAI’s strategy to diversify its cloud infrastructure beyond Microsoft Azure, ensuring redundancy and scalability.
