OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank Expand Stargate Project With Five New U.S. Data Centers
In September 2025, OpenAI announced the construction of five additional data centers in the United States under its $500 billion StargateDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → initiative, developed with OracleDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and SoftBank. The expansion will raise Stargate’s planned capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts—comparable to the output of seven nuclear reactors.
Three of the new facilities, located in Texas, New Mexico and a yet-to-be-disclosed Midwestern site, are being developed with Oracle. Two further sites, in Ohio and Texas, are led by OpenAI in partnership with SB EnergyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a SoftBank subsidiary. The projects follow an earlier agreement between OpenAI and Oracle to develop up to 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity in addition to the ongoing buildout in Abilene, Texas.
OpenAI estimates the expansion could generate more than 25,000 onsite jobs, though most roles will be tied to construction rather than long-term operations. The Abilene site alone, managed by Crusoe and primarily operated by Oracle, is slated to house over 400,000 GPUs once completed in 2026.
The Stargate program is part of a broader push to establish the U.S. as a global leader in AI infrastructure, with support from President Donald Trump’s administration.
Officials and executives have framed the initiative as a response to China’s rapid deployment of energy and computing capacity. Critics, however, have questioned the environmental costs, the financial complexity of the projects, and whether scaling infrastructure guarantees OpenAI’s competitive advantage.
This announcement comes a day after OpenAI unveiled a separate agreement with Nvidia, which includes a planned 10-gigawatt capacity buildout and up to $100 billion in investment.
J.V.
