Generative AI company OpenAI is exploring the development of data center campuses across more than a dozen states in the US as part of its Stargate initiative.
According to CNBC and other reports, OpenAI executives stated this week that 16 states have shown “real interest” in hosting the company’s projects. OpenAI recently issued a request for proposals (RFP) to these states and aims to establish between five and ten campuses, each capable of supporting at least 1GW of capacity.
“A project of this size represents an opportunity to both re-industrialize parts of the country, but also to help revitalize where the American Dream is going to go in this intelligence age,” said Chris Lehane, OpenAI’s vice president of global policy.
The states under consideration include Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Texas, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia.
While OpenAI has long relied on Microsoft as its primary cloud provider, the company has been pursuing its own large-scale data center projects since early 2024 to meet its growing infrastructure needs. The Stargate venture, officially announced earlier this year, aims to develop gigawatt-scale campuses across the US. OpenAI has partnered with Oracle, SoftBank, and Abu Dhabi’s MGX on the initiative, which could ultimately exceed $500 billion in total investment.
The first project under Stargate is a large-scale data center campus in Abilene, Texas, being developed by Crusoe in partnership with Oracle on land owned by Lancium. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar recently noted that the company is “aiming to secure land and power for multiple locations across Texas,” in addition to sites in Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Wisconsin, with site visits scheduled for next week.
One potential Texas site is a 250-acre property near Colorado City. Meanwhile, SoftBank has invested in cryptomining data center firm Cipher Mining through its subsidiary Star Beacon LLC, securing a period of exclusivity to acquire Cipher’s planned 300MW Barber Lake campus.
Microsoft, once OpenAI’s exclusive cloud provider, still holds a right of first refusal to serve the company. However, while it remains a significant shareholder in OpenAI, Microsoft is not an equity partner in the Stargate venture.
