OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank Expand AI Infrastructure with Five Stargate Data Centers
WASHINGTON D.C. - OpenAI is significantly expanding its artificial intelligence infrastructure footprint in the United States through the Stargate project, a collaboration with Oracle and SoftBank. The initiative now encompasses five data center locations – Abilene, Texas; Lordstown, Ohio; and Milam County, Texas – aiming for a total capacity of up to 10 gigawatts.
Originally announced in january,the $500 billion commitment between OpenAI,SoftBank,Oracle,and MGX was intended to “secure American leadership in AI” and “create hundreds of thousands of American jobs,” according to OpenAI. The project gained further momentum with a July proclamation detailing a partnership with Oracle to develop up to 4.5 gigawatts of additional capacity, building on the initial Stargate facility in Abilene.
The Abilene site is undergoing a 600 megawatt expansion and is expected to be completed by mid-2026.It is currently operational, running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and supporting OpenAI’s AI training and inference workloads.OpenAI claims the new data centers, including the abilene expansion, will create more than 25,000 onsite jobs.
The Lordstown, Ohio, and Milam County, Texas, sites are being developed by openai and SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank specializing in solar and battery projects.
The Stargate project has received strong support from the White House. Following his return to office, President Donald Trump touted the initiative as a means to accelerate American progress in AI and compete with china. In July, Trump announced an AI action plan emphasizing rapid infrastructure development and reduced regulation. “We believe we’re in an AI race,” stated White House AI czar David Sacks. “We want the United states to win that race.”
Initially presented as a “new company” chaired by Softbank CEO Masayoshi son, Stargate is now understood to be an umbrella brand for OpenAI’s data center projects, excluding those developed in partnership with Microsoft. Oracle primarily owns and operates the Abilene site, with OpenAI as the main tenant, and the buildout is being managed by Crusoe, a data center startup.
