OpenAI, Oracle, Softbank Vow to Invest $500B for More US Data Centers

A private joint venture known as Stargate that pledges to invest up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence development, and will include tech firms OpenAI and Oracle and sector investor SoftBank with investment also from Middle East fund MGX, was announced by President Donald Trump on Jan. 22.

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, speaking at a White House news conference, said Stargate will start building out data centers and electricity generation needed for the further development of fast-moving AI in Texas. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion. “It’s big money and high quality people,” said Trump, terming the plan “a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential.” Also at the event were Masayoshi Son and Sam Altman, CEOs of Softbank and OpenAI, respectively, who credited the administration boost. 

Ellison said Abilene, Texas, is the first Stargate data center location, with work already underway by developer Crusoe Energy Systems,, which also is design engineer and will operate the $3.4-billion data center.

"AI holds incredible promise for all of us," he said. "We've been working with OpenAI for awhile. The data centers are actually under construction." Each building is roughly 500,000 sq ft in size, Ellison added, noting that 10 are currently under construction, with the number to expand to 20 and "to other locations beyond Abilene."

The project is 100% leased to a company now known to be Oracle. Joint venture partner Lancium said in an October press release that it would provide clean energy for the campus. DPR Construction is the general contractor, breaking ground on the project in 2022, with completion expected later this year. Lancium did not detail the method of clean energy generation to be used for the Abilene facility, but most similar data center projects have on-site wind or solar power. The total cost of the Oracle-leased data canters is expected to be $1.1-billion according to public filings.

The other nine locations Ellison mentioned are not yet known but the Texas data center market is robust with multiple developers building facilities that have on-site energy generation. 

Son, who will take be Stargate chairman in addition to his current role at Softbank, has committed to investing $100 billion in U.S. data center projects. SoftBank and OpenAI are lead partners, with the former having financial responsibility and the latter in charge of operations. OpenAI and Oracle also were identified as Stargate's key initial technology partners, along with Arm, Microsoft and NVIDIA.

"We'll be turning [the data centers] over to Sam [Altman] to start training the next [AI] model," Ellison said. "The data center we already built ... was the largest computer ever built. The data center we're building [now] will surpass it and will be the largest computer ever built, which enables this AI."

Also, Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 23 that revoked one from the Biden administration with requirements on companies developing and deploying AI. The new order, which claims the previous one "would stifle private-sector innovation and threaten American technological leadership," calls for federal agencies to revise or rescind previous policies, directives, regulations, orders and other actions that are "inconsistent with enhancing America’s leadership in AI."

Trump advisor Elon Musk and Altman engaged Jan. 23 in debate on Musk's X social media platform, with each accusing the other of being dishonest about the deal. Musk is an OpenAi co-founder and former board member before leaving and suing the company over its change from a non-profit entity to a for-profit company led by Altman. 

The Musk lawsuit, which also appears to touch on the evolution of AI as a technology, is scheduled to be argued next month in federal district court in San Francisco.