The Stargate AI data center project worth $500 billion, announced by US President Donald Trump in January 2025, is reportedly running into serious trouble.
More than a year after the announcement, the joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank hasn't hired any staff and isn't actively developing any data centers, The Information reports, citing three people involved in the "shelved idea." The three partners have been arguing over responsibilities and how the collaboration should be structured, disagreements that were already surfacing last summer.
OpenAI then tried to build its own data centers but couldn't get financing. Lenders weren't willing to back billion-dollar projects from a company with an unproven business model and heavy losses. Only after hitting that wall did OpenAI go back to its Stargate partners Oracle and Softbank. This time around, though, the partnership is a two-way deal rather than a three-way consortium.
At the end of July, Oracle and OpenAI officially announced a deal for 4.5 gigawatts across multiple US locations. According to The Information, the two companies split part of the economic risk: if delays or cost overruns happen, both sides cover the extra costs, and both benefit from any savings.
