OpenAI, Oracle deepen AI data center push with 4.5 gigawatt Stargate expansion
The ChatGPT maker did not disclose the locations or funding details for the new facilities in Tuesday's announcement, opens new tab.
The move builds on the Stargate initiative, an up to $500 billion and 10 gigawatt project that also includes Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group (9984.T), opens new tab and is setting up its first AI data center in Abilene, Texas.
OpenAI, as well as its backer Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, are among the technology companies pouring billions of dollars on data centers to power generative AI services such as ChatGPT and Copilot that require huge amounts of computing power.
The growing use of AI in sensitive sectors such as defense, as well as China's push to catch up, has made the nascent technology a top priority for U.S. President Donald Trump, who unveiled Stargate at the White House in January.
The new data centers will bring Stargate's total capacity under development to more than 5 gigawatts, which will run on over 2 million chips, OpenAI said in a blog post, adding that the tie-up now expects to exceed its initial commitment.
Oracle and SoftBank did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The White House also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Analysts have raised doubts about the venture's ability to secure the funding, including $100 billion for immediate deployment. In January, xAI owner Elon Musk, dismissed the group, saying "they don't actually have the money."
OpenAI and SoftBank will each commit $19 billion to fund Stargate, reports said in January. The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday the two companies have been at odds with each other and Stargate is now setting a more modest goal of building a small data center at end-2025, likely in Ohio.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Beach city scraps 10,000 new homes and plans F1-style track instead that locals rage is 'dumb' and 'desperate'
Locals in a popular New Jersey beach city are enraged after it ditched plans to build 10,000 new homes for a 'dumb' and 'desperate' $3.4 billion F1-style racetrack. Atlantic City government officials have moved forward with the redevelopment of Bader Field, a shuttered airport about an hour outside of Philadelphia, after plans for the new racetrack were officially approved on July 16. The idea to take over the abandoned city-owned airport, which shut down in 2006, first started in 2022 when Bart Blatstein, the CEO of Tower Investments, Inc. and owner of Showboat Atlantic City, said his company and Atlantic City would collaborate to create a massive residential community. The proposed $3 billion development, dubbed 'Casa Mar,' was set to be built on 140 acres with 10,000 residential units, 20 acres of trails, amenities and parks and 400,000 square-feet of retail and office space - but that plan has since been wiped. Instead, a 2.5-mile racetrack, headed by real estate development company Deem Enterprises, will take its place. The massive raceway, said to be a 'game changer' by Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr., is expected to take six to nine years to complete. It will be surrounded by retail businesses and condominiums in the community that is home to beaches, a bustling boardwalk and casinos. 'We're more confident than ever that we have the funds, Small Sr., an Atlantic City native who has been in office since 2019, told NJ Advance Media. '[DEEM] has been vetted, and just getting a $3.4-plus billion project on the ratable base is a complete game changer.' While the mayor, who was embroiled in a child abuse scandal involving his wife and daughter last year, and other government officials are thrilled about the new plan, Atlantic City locals are not happy with it. 'Atlantic City leadership is so desperate that they will support any development offer no matter how stupid it is,' a Facebook user wrote. Another said: 'What a joke! Want to really do something with the land? Dig canals and sell off lots and watch the ratepayers flood in!' 'Building that into a racetrack has to be the dumbest idea in the world,' someone else posted. A resident stressed that the heavily populated and touristy area is already filled with loud noises, so a racetrack would not be ideal. 'If people are bothered by the noise from beach concerts, the noise from the screaming F1 race cars would be unbearable!,' they said. While many are not happy with the development, others appear to be excited for the new track. 'Hell yes,' one simply wrote. Somebody else said: 'Do it!' Another said: 'Excellent' alongside several thumbs up and heart emojis. Meanwhile, a majority of people are not convinced the racetrack will ever be completed. 'They've been talking about it for years... highly doubt it'll ever happen,' wrote a user. 'This is all BS. Every few years this story comes out,' someone else shared. Another posted: 'I'm gonna go ahead and predict this will never happen.' Blatstein told the outlet three years ago that he saw room for growth in the beach city after realizing that other Garden State beach towns have booming populations compared to Atlantic City. 'So what really is needed here is a new plan, a new way of living, a new opportunity for people to come to Atlantic City,' Blatstein said. DEEM Enterprises, a Los Angeles and Atlantic City-based company, first announced the proposal in February of that year. The company has a tentative deal with the city to sell the vacant airfield for $100 million in exchange the real estate developer would donate $15 million for a community center. 'We don't have a recreation center of our town,' Small Sr. explained. 'We use the schools and different things like that.'
Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
Report: Chargers LT Rashawn Slater lands record extension
July 27 - Los Angeles Chargers left tackle Rashawn Slater has agreed to a record-setting four-year, $114 million extension, ESPN reported on Sunday. The deal includes a record $92 million guaranteed and makes Slater the highest-paid offensive lineman in history at $28.5 million per season, per the report. Tampa Bay Buccaneers left tackle Tristan Wirfs' contract has an average annual salary of $28.12 million and Detroit Lions right tackle Penei Sewell earns $28 million, according to Spotrac. The Chargers confirmed that they agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension with the two-time Pro Bowl selection but did not provide any financial details. Slater, 26, was a first-round pick (13th overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft and is entering the final year of his rookie deal. His fifth-year club option is worth $19.04 million this season. Slater has started all 51 of his games for the Chargers, including 15 last season. He was limited to just three games in 2022 due to a ruptured biceps tendon. He made the Pro Bowl in 2021 and 2024 and was named Second Team All-Pro in 2021. --Field Level Media
Reuters
39 minutes ago
- Reuters
Euro gains as investors cautiously welcome US-EU trade deal
NEW YORK, July 27 (Reuters) - Investors cautiously embraced news of a trade deal on Sunday between the U.S. and European Union that is expected to bring clarity for companies and some certainty to markets ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump's Friday tariffs deadline. The euro rose against the U.S. dollar , up 0.27% at $1.177. The currency also gained 0.2% against both the pound and the Japanese yen . Trump announced the United States has struck a framework trade deal with the EU that includes a 15% tariff on EU goods entering the U.S. and significant EU purchases of U.S. energy and military equipment. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the deal includes "cars, semiconductors and pharmas." The deal is similar to parts of the framework agreement the U.S. clinched with Japan last week. "It's really in line with the Japan deal, and I assume investors will view it positively as they viewed the Japan deal," said Rick Meckler, partner at Cherry Lane Investments in New Vernon, New Jersey. Optimism over easing trade tensions broadly helped push U.S. stocks to record highs last week and lifted European shares to their highest since early June. Trump's April 2 "Liberation Day" announcement of sweeping global tariffs sent stocks plunging in the immediate aftermath, due to spiking fears about a recession that have since faded. "I don't think equities in particular needed much of an excuse to rally and now they've got one," said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone in London. Still, investors have been bracing for increased volatility heading into August 1, which the U.S. has set as a deadline for raising levies on a broad swath of trading partners. "We will need to see how long the sides stick to the deal. From a market perspective, it is reassuring in the sense that having a deal is better than not having a deal," Eric Winograd, chief economist at investment management firm AllianceBernstein, said about the EU agreement. The announcement came after Von der Leyen traveled to Scotland for talks with Trump to push a hard-fought deal over the line.
