OpenAI’s First Stargate Site to Hold Up to 400,000 Nvidia Chips

The development of OpenAI’s $100 billion Stargate infrastructure venture is underway with the construction of a massive data center complex in Abilene, Texas. This site, set to be completed by mid-2026, will house up to 400,000 of Nvidia Corp.’s powerful AI chips, making it one of the largest clusters of artificial intelligence computing power in existence.

The Stargate joint venture, a collaboration between OpenAI, SoftBank Group Corp., and Oracle Corp., aims to provide the physical infrastructure necessary for advanced AI models. The Abilene location will have a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts of power and is expected to support hundreds of thousands of AI chips. While the exact number of chips committed to the project remains unknown, Oracle has already agreed to utilize the full build for Stargate.

Other tech giants are also ramping up their AI computing capabilities. Elon Musk’s xAI recently secured a $5 billion deal with Dell Technologies Inc. for AI servers, while Meta Platforms Inc. plans to have computing power equivalent to 600,000 Nvidia H100s by the end of 2024. CoreWeave Inc. boasts over 250,000 Nvidia graphics processing units across 32 data centers.

Despite the formal announcement of Stargate in January, the Abilene data center complex has been in development for some time. Crusoe CEO Chase Lochmiller noted the rapid pace of construction, with about 2,000 workers currently on-site and plans to increase that number to nearly 5,000. The complex will feature eight data center buildings, each capable of housing up to 50,000 Nvidia GB200 semiconductors.

The project has gained significant momentum following the White House event, with Michael McNamara, CEO of energy startup Lancium, emphasizing the need for accelerated development. With plans to expand to as many as 10 sites nationwide, the Stargate venture is poised to revolutionize the AI landscape.

As the demand for advanced AI capabilities continues to grow, initiatives like Stargate are essential for driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence. The Abilene data center complex represents a significant step forward in the quest for cutting-edge AI infrastructure.