The Stargate project – a joint initiative from OpenAI and SoftBank meant to overhaul the US AI infrastructure – is barely moving forward.
According to the Wall Street Journal, neither company has finished or even secured a single data center since announcing the project in January. The much-touted $100 billion investment has now been scaled back to a far more modest goal: a small data center in Ohio, targeted for completion by the end of the year.
Stargate was originally pitched as a massive infrastructure push, aiming to build $500 billion worth of US data centers by 2029 to support the country’s AI ambitions. The launch got a high-profile rollout at the White House, with Donald Trump, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son all in attendance. OpenAI and SoftBank each committed $18 billion, and other partners like Oracle and UAE-based MGX were mentioned – but so far, there have been no concrete investment promises from them.
Disagreements over locations and strategy
The WSJ reports that OpenAI and SoftBank are clashing over key issues like where to build the data centers. One major point of friction: whether to use land controlled by SB Energy, a SoftBank-affiliated energy developer. There’s also still no binding agreement on the roles of Oracle or MGX.
Despite both companies’ public claims that they’re moving “at hyperscale speed,” Oracle CEO Safra Catz told investors last month, Stargate is not yet formed.
OpenAI goes its own way
Altman appears to see things differently. OpenAI now describes its data centers in Abilene and Denton, Texas as part of Stargate, even though SoftBank isn’t involved in those projects, according to the WSJ. The reality is that OpenAI needs GPUs and is forging ahead with its own infrastructure plans.
Recently, OpenAI signed a major deal with Oracle to secure 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity – roughly equal to the electricity needs of four million US households. The agreement will have OpenAI paying Oracle more than $30 billion a year, starting in three years.
There’s also an agreement in place with CoreWeave. Taken together, these deals give OpenAI nearly as much computing power as Stargate was supposed to deliver this year.
