OpenAI’s highly anticipated Stargate project, a $500 million venture to build advanced AI infrastructure, is reportedly encountering early setbacks. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal dated July 21, the ambitious effort—which originally aimed to begin with a $100 million investment “immediately” after its January announcement—has slowed due to internal disagreements, particularly between OpenAI and key partner SoftBank, over decisions such as the physical location of the infrastructure.
Due to these differences, OpenAI is now focusing on a scaled-down version of the initiative, with a smaller data center expected to be launched in Ohio by the end of 2025. This pivot comes even as construction continues on a separate, large-scale 1.2-gigawatt AI supercomputing campus in Abilene, Texas, backed by Oracle. Notably, SoftBank is not involved in the Texas-based project, according to sources cited by WSJ.
The Stargate initiative includes a diverse network of collaborators, such as MGX, Arm, Microsoft, and NVIDIA, each contributing specific technological strengths. Despite the current delays, the long-term goal remains to develop next-generation AI computing capabilities capable of supporting future models and innovations in artificial intelligence.
Parallel to Stargate, OpenAI has committed to a massive $30 billion data center agreement with Oracle, securing 4.5 gigawatts of computing capacity—a clear indication of the scale of resources required to fuel AI advancement.
While Stargate is centered on U.S. infrastructure, OpenAI is also pursuing global AI infrastructure through its “OpenAI for Countries” initiative. This international program aims to help national governments build secure, localized AI systems. It focuses on enhancing data sovereignty, fostering local innovation, and ensuring AI tools are tailored to national priorities.
Through this global effort, OpenAI seeks to promote democratic values and protect data privacy, even as it scales its infrastructure footprint worldwide. Despite early turbulence, Stargate and its complementary efforts reflect OpenAI’s broader commitment to building the computational backbone needed to drive the future of AI.
