OpenAI, SoftBank to Build a Small Data Centre by 2025 End for Stargate: Report

OpenAI’s Stargate project, a $500 million initiative to develop advanced AI infrastructure in the United States and beyond, has faced difficulties in getting started and has scaled back its short-term plans, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on July 21. 

SoftBank and OpenAI, the lead partners in the project, have been at odds over several important aspects of the partnership, such as where to build the infrastructure, according to WSJ sources familiar with the matter. 

The goal for the end of the year is to build only a small data centre, likely in Ohio, as per the report. 

Alongside SoftBank and OpenAI, the project also includes partners such as Oracle, MGX, Arm, Microsoft, and NVIDIA, each contributing in its own capacities. 

OpenAI announced that the project would deploy an initial $100 million “immediately” when announced in January. 

The Stargate project began with the construction of a supercomputing campus in Abilene, Texas, with plans in place to establish similar sites elsewhere. 

The 1.2-gigawatt facility in Abilene, Texas, is under construction with support from Oracle, among other partners. However, the WSJ report, citing people familiar with the matter, states that SoftBank is not involved in the construction of this particular facility. 

As per reports, OpenAI has also recently signed a $30 billion data centre deal with Oracle to lease 4.5 gigawatts of computing power. 

While the Stargate project focuses on building AI infrastructure primarily in the USA, OpenAI also announced a global initiative called OpenAI for Countries, which supports national governments in building AI infrastructure aligned with democratic principles. 

The initiative's key elements involve collaborating with countries to establish secure data centres within their borders. These centres will promote data sovereignty, foster local industries and enable AI customisation using local data in a private and compliant manner.