Key takeaways
- OpenAI leases 4.5 gigawatts of computing power from Oracle for the Stargate project.
- This unprecedented energy could power millions of American homes, enhancing AI infrastructure.
- Oracle plans to expand its data center capacity across various U.S. states to meet demand.
- Stargate involves a $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure, collaborating with Oracle and SoftBank.
- OpenAI explores additional data center locations in states like New Mexico and Ohio.
OpenAI is planning to lease a significant amount of computing power from Oracle's data centres as part of its Stargate project, underscoring the substantial needs for advanced AI products.
Bloomberg News, citing sources familiar with the matter, revealed that the AI firm will lease additional capacity from Oracle, amounting to approximately 4.5 gigawatts of data centre power in the US.
This represents an unprecedented amount of energy that could supply power to millions of American homes. One gigawatt is comparable to the output of a single nuclear reactor, capable of serving roughly 750,000 homes.
Earlier this week, Oracle revealed that it had secured a single cloud agreement projected to generate $30 billion in annual revenue starting in fiscal 2028, without naming the client. This Stargate arrangement constitutes at least part of the disclosed contract, according to an insider.
Stargate, OpenAI's initiative, in collaboration with partners such as Oracle and SoftBank Group, to allocate $500 billion toward AI infrastructure, was initially announced in January at the White House. Thus far, Oracle has constructed a large data centre in Abilene, Texas, for OpenAI alongside its development partner, Crusoe.
To accommodate the increased demand from OpenAI, Oracle plans to build several data centres across the United States in collaboration with others, according to sources. Locations being considered include Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, in addition to enhancing the Abilene facility's current power capacity of 1.2 gigawatts to around 2 gigawatts, the sources indicated.
OpenAI is also exploring sites in New Mexico, Georgia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, one of the individuals mentioned.
“As part of Stargate, Oracle, NVIDIA, and OpenAI will closely collaborate to build and operate this computing system. This builds on a deep collaboration between OpenAI and NVIDIA going back to 2016 and a newer partnership between OpenAI and Oracle,” OpenAI wrote on X when the Stargate announcement was made.
