OpenAI, Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL) and SoftBank Group (OTC:SFTBF) (OTC:SFTBY) on Tuesday announced plans to build five new U.S. data centers as part of the $500 billion Stargate project, a massive private-sector effort to power the next wave of artificial intelligence.
Five Sites Across the US
OpenAI said it will expand with Oracle at three locations: Shackelford County, Texas; Dona Ana County, New Mexico and an undisclosed site in the Midwest.
Two additional data centers in Lordstown, Ohio and Milam County, Texas, will be built in partnership with SoftBank and a SoftBank affiliate.
The new builds are expected to create about 25,000 onsite jobs, the company said.
Together with ongoing projects in Abilene, Texas and other partnerships, Stargate's total capacity is set to approach seven gigawatts, representing more than $400 billion in investment over the next three years.
The long-term goal is 10 gigawatts.
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Altman: AI Can Only Fulfill Its Promise If We Build the Compute
"AI can only fulfill its promise if we build the compute to power it. That compute is the key to ensuring everyone can benefit from AI and to unlocking future breakthroughs," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a statement shared by the company.
Clay Magouyrk, CEO of Oracle, said the company's AI infrastructure—designed for reliability, scalability, and security—is enabling OpenAI to grow quickly.
Masayoshi Son, chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, said the company is leveraging its data center design and energy expertise through Stargate to provide the scalable compute needed to power the future of AI.
The Stargate initiative was first unveiled in January during a White House meeting with President Donald Trump and top tech CEOs.
With AI central to both national security and global competition, the administration has championed the project as a way to cement U.S. leadership over rivals such as China.
Nvidia's $100 Billion Commitment
The announcement came a day after Nvidia revealed plans to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI, providing advanced chips to support Stargate's rollout.
The chipmaker will help deploy 10 gigawatts of Nvidia-powered systems to handle AI training and inference.
Gene Munster of DeepWater Asset Management called Nvidia's deal a pivotal moment in the AI arms race, noting it will pressure rivals like Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Microsoft Corporartion (NASDAQ:MSFT) to ramp up capital spending.
Price Action: Oracle shares fell 4.36% on Tuesday, while Nvidia stock slipped 2.82%, according to Benzinga Pro.
Benzinga's Edge Stock Rankings show that ORCL continues to trend upward across short, medium and long-term periods, with further performance insights available here.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
