Artificial intelligence heavyweight OpenAI will construct five new computing facilities in partnership with SoftBank and Oracle, advancing a $500 billion infrastructure development programme announced earlier this year.
The facilities will be located in Lordstown, Ohio; Milam County, Texas; Shackelford, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; and an undisclosed location in the Midwest, according to The New York Times. The announcement follows OpenAI’s $100 billion investment agreement with chipmaker Nvidia, which was revealed the previous day.
OpenAI stated Tuesday that these agreements bring its total data centre infrastructure commitments to more than $400 billion, requiring additional partnerships to reach the $500 billion target established under the Stargate Project unveiled with President Trump in January.
Oracle will finance and oversee the construction of three facilities, subsequently selling computing capacity to OpenAI. SoftBank will fund two locations through bank financing and debt arrangements, with OpenAI managing construction activities.
“It is a combination of working with all the right partners and providers to bring all of their capital bear as well as interesting new corporate structures and interesting new ways of doing financing,” explained Oracle co-chief executive Clay Magouyrk regarding the funding approach.
The expansion represents part of a broader effort by the technology industry to build AI-supporting infrastructure globally. OpenAI, Amazon, Google, Meta, and Microsoft plan to combine spending exceeding $325 billion on such facilities by year-end.
OpenAI’s partnership strategy involves raising capital from companies providing essential services. Microsoft invested more than $13 billion between 2019 and 2023, subsequently earning substantial returns through computing services provided to the startup.
Nvidia’s investment includes an initial $10 billion at OpenAI’s current $500 billion valuation, securing approximately 2 per cent ownership. The chipmaker plans nine additional $10 billion investments as data centre construction progresses.
Industry experts express concern about potential debt burdens if AI adoption proceeds more slowly than anticipated. Despite generating billions in revenue, OpenAI’s expenditure, primarily on computing power, significantly exceeds income.
OpenAI and Oracle are already constructing facilities in Abilene, Texas, with plans for eight data centres that will consume approximately 1.4 gigawatts of electricity. Two centres currently operate, with additional international expansion planned in the United Arab Emirates.
