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OpenAI, the firm behind ChatGPT, is dramatically accelerating its infrastructure ambitions through the massive "Stargate project," which CEO Sam Altman calls the "largest infrastructure push of the modern internet era". This effort involves building a vast network of data centers designed to power the company’s next generation of AI models.
This frantic building pace is a direct response to a "massive compute crunch". Altman stated that AI can only fulfill its promise if the compute exists to power it, stressing, "Everything starts with compute". This need is driven by soaring demand, including a tenfold jump in ChatGPT usage over the past 18 months, leading OpenAI to grow to over 700 million weekly active users.
Scale and Partnerships
The scale of the Stargate project is monumental. The total infrastructure undertaking is expected to include 10 gigawatts (GW) of computing power and cost $500 billion. Recent announcements bring the project to almost 7 GW of capacity and more than $400 billion in investment over the next three years. Altman estimates that the ultimate capacity needed to support global demand could be at least 20 GW, translating to a minimum of one trillion dollars in infrastructure investment. A planned 17-GW buildout is estimated to cost around $850 billion and require electricity equal to the output of 17 nuclear plants.
OpenAI is moving forward with five new data center sites in partnership with cloud computing company Oracle and Japanese investment firm SoftBank. The announced locations include sites in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, and a yet-to-be-disclosed location in the Midwest. The initial large data center facility, located on 1,100 acres near Abilene, Texas, is being built and operated by Oracle.
A critical component of this expansion is the strategic partnership with NVIDIA. The companies announced a letter of intent to deploy at least 10 gigawatts of NVIDIA systems for OpenAI’s next-generation AI infrastructure. To support this, NVIDIA intends to invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI progressively as each gigawatt is deployed.
Financial and Resource Challenges
The immense spending has led to warnings of a potential economic bubble. Altman acknowledged the concern, stating, "I totally get that", but maintained confidence that the long-term value of the technology will be "gigantic to society". CFO Sarah Friar addressed skeptics who suggest a circular financing model, arguing that the entire ecosystem, including partners like Oracle and Microsoft, must work together to meet the historic compute shortage.
These vast data centers consume colossal amounts of resources, particularly electricity, which Altman views as the biggest bottleneck. To secure power, Altman has invested in nuclear companies, believing their steady, concentrated output is one of the only energy sources strong enough to meet AI’s enormous demand.
Microsoft remains a major partner and key compute supplier. Additionally, OpenAI is pursuing hardware innovation, having acquired Jony Ive’s devices startup, with Altman hinting at a "small family of devices" that could reshape how people use computers.
