OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank announce five new data center locations in the US, boosting Stargate's planned capacity to nearly 7 GW

The new sites will boost Stargate's planned capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts—about equal to the output of seven large nuclear reactors.

Wired 2025-09-24

Context & Ripple Effects

Stargate began as a US joint venture with a large stated infrastructure commitment, and OpenAI had already agreed to rent roughly 4.5 GW of additional Oracle computing power under the initiative. The five-site expansion turns that earlier capacity arrangement into a broader, multi-location buildout.

The program had also been tied to Oracle’s planned Texas deployment, including an Oracle purchase of Nvidia GB200 systems for a 1.2 GW Texas site. Reaching nearly 7 GW makes powered capacity—not simply chip procurement—the central execution constraint.

First-order effects

OpenAI gains a substantially larger planned US compute footprint, while Oracle and SoftBank take on a wider set of site-development and delivery commitments under Stargate.
The announced locations concentrate demand for grid connections, data-center construction, and equipment around a single AI-infrastructure program.

Second-order effects

Competing cloud and AI-infrastructure providers face greater pressure to secure long-duration powered sites and demonstrate that their own capacity roadmaps can support frontier-model customers.
A larger committed footprint strengthens demand visibility for construction and hardware supply chains, while increasing competition for scarce power-ready data-center capacity.

Third-order effects

If projects of this scale proceed, AI compute procurement is likely to resemble a capacity market in which access to power, sites, and financing is as strategic as access to accelerators.
The model could further shift AI infrastructure toward utility-like, long-lived assets financed and contracted before utilization is fully proven; execution risk remains high because planned capacity must still be connected and built.

The trend: Stargate is part of AI infrastructure’s shift from discrete data-center leases toward multi-gigawatt, power-first capacity portfolios.

Discussion

@paraschopra Paras Chopra on x
OpenAI and all major AI companies betting on gigawatts of AI compute.. It'll be ironical if a new kid on the block makes all of it redundant by figuring out a general intelligence that runs on 20 watts of power (like human brain does).
@brij Brij Singh on x
Once you realize this isn't about chips or datacenters but a 2 yr sprint to cross the superintelligence threshold first, it all clicks Either you run at this pace - or you stay on the sidelines calling it a bubble
@oracle @oracle on x
Together with @sama and the @OpenAI team, we're developing three additional new AI data center sites in Shackelford County, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico, and a site in the Midwest. Here's the latest news on Stargate and the rapid progress at the flagship campus in Abilene,…
@scottew Scott Wessman on x
Months ago when Stargate was announced, a lot of people dismissed it as impossible bluster. Reminds me a bit of Elon's mode—huge commitments/promises, initial scorn, then quibbling over details as the company starts to actually do the big stuff initially disbelieved.
@andrewcurran_ Andrew Curran on x
Five new Stargate sites: - Shackelford County, Texas - Lordstown, Ohio - Milam County, Texas, - Doña Ana County, New Mexico - and a new site in the Midwest to be announced later [image]
@yonashav Yo Shavit on x
The world's first real evidence of scaling was posted to a small pocket of researchers 5 years and 3 months ago. By the end of the decade, the world economy will have built a network of infrastructure mega-projects to put the railroads to shame. The 21st century goes very fast.
@chatgpt21 Chris on x
7 gigawatts of planned capacity and over $400 billion in investment over the next 3 years Stargate is ahead of schedule!!
@zephyr_z9 @zephyr_z9 on x
7GW for $400B They have finally finalized the Stargate plan Softbank will soon announce their investment in OAI now that restructuring is complete I pretty sure that the Stargate consortium hasn't deployed $100B in 2025 (which Sam promised to deploy in January) [image]
@openai @openai on x
More compute in the making. Announcing 5 new Stargate sites with Oracle and SoftBank, putting us ahead of schedule on the 10-gigawatt commitment we announced in January. https://openai.com/...
r/singularity r on reddit
OpenAI executives envision a need for more than 20 gigawatts of compute to meet the demand. That's at least $1 trillion. …
r/OpenAI r on reddit
OpenAI Teams Up With Oracle and SoftBank to Build 5 New Stargate Data Centers
r/singularity r on reddit
OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank expand Stargate with five new AI data center sites
r/accelerate r on reddit
OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank expand Stargate with five new AI data center sites
r/wallstreetbets r on reddit
OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank expand Stargate with five new AI data center sites
r/oracle r on reddit
OpenAI Teams Up With Oracle and SoftBank to Build 5 New Stargate Data Centers

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