OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank to build five AI data centers in US Stargate project

On September 23, OpenAI, Oracle (ORCL.N), and SoftBank (9984.T) announced plans to build five new artificial intelligence (AI) data centers across the United States as part of the ambitious $500 billion Stargate project. 

The initiative, launched by U.S. President Donald Trump in January, aims to create 10 gigawatts of AI computing capacity nationwide, Reuters reports.

OpenAI said it will develop three sites in collaboration with Oracle in Shackelford County, Texas; Dona Ana County, New Mexico; and a yet-to-be-disclosed location in the Midwest. Two additional sites will be constructed in Lordstown, Ohio, and Milam County, Texas, with OpenAI, SoftBank, and a SoftBank affiliate working together.

The new expansions, including the Oracle-OpenAI site in Abilene, Texas, alongside ongoing projects with CoreWeave (CRWV.O), will increase Stargate’s total data center capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts and represent more than $400 billion in investment over the next three years, OpenAI said.

“AI can only fulfill its promise if we build the compute to power it,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement. The data center expansion is expected to create approximately 25,000 onsite jobs.

The announcement comes a day after Nvidia (NVDA.O) revealed plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and supply chips for the project. OpenAI and its partners plan to use debt financing to lease chips for the Stargate initiative.

Alongside Microsoft (MSFT.O), OpenAI is investing heavily in data centers to support generative AI services such as ChatGPT and Copilot. The U.S. government has emphasized AI as a strategic priority for both economic competitiveness and defense, especially as global rivals, including China, race to develop similar technologies.

By Vugar Khalilov