On March 7, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI and Oracle are set to build a large-scale data center in Abilene, Texas, installing tens of thousands of Nvidia’s high-performance AI chips over the coming months. This facility marks the first step in the “Stargate” infrastructure project between the two companies. According to sources, the data center will house 64,000 Nvidia GB200 chips by the end of 2026, with the first 16,000 units scheduled for deployment this summer.
This massive AI infrastructure expansion highlights the scale and ambition of the Stargate project. In January, OpenAI, SoftBank Group, and Oracle unveiled the Stargate investment plan at a White House event. They committed an initial $100 billion, with a goal to increase it to $500 billion over the next four years. The first deployment begins with the Texas data center.
An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed that the company is collaborating with Oracle to design and manage the Abilene data center, which will also oversee supercomputer procurement and operations. While Oracle has yet to respond to media inquiries, Nvidia also declined to comment.
The Stargate project is part of an intensifying race among tech giants to expand computing power using Nvidia’s latest AI chips, which are crucial for training and deploying advanced generative AI models. Previously, Elon Musk’s xAI struck a $5 billion deal with Dell Technologies to build AI servers for a Memphis-based supercomputer. Similarly, Meta Platforms announced its computing power expansion, aiming for 600,000 NVIDIA H100 chips by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, AI cloud provider CoreWeave disclosed in a recent filing that it has deployed over 250,000 Nvidia GPUs across 32 data centers.
The first batch of GB200 chips for the Abilene data center alone is projected to cost billions of dollars. While Nvidia has not disclosed pricing, its CEO Jensen Huang previously stated that the weaker B200 chip is priced between $30,000 and $40,000 per unit.
Beyond Texas, OpenAI and SoftBank are evaluating Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Oregon as potential locations for future Stargate data centers. Additionally, Oracle already operates cloud facilities in Salt Lake City.
