OpenAI and SoftBank Group have finalised a US$1 billion investment in SB Energy to support the "Stargate" initiative - a $500 billion mega program designed to build out critical data centre infrastructure across the United States.
This deal involves a $500 million contribution from each party into SB Energy - a California-based power and data centre platform majority-owned by SoftBank - to scale its current development pipeline.
OpenAI has leased a new 1.2GW Texas campus in Milam County, where SB Energy will manage the construction and long-term operation of the facility.
To bolster its delivery capabilities, SB Energy recently acquired the construction management firm Studio 151 and secured $800 million in additional financing from Ares Management.
The Milam County site features on-site power generation to protect local grid stability and is scheduled to begin initial operations in late 2026.
Construction at the Texas facility is expected to create several thousand local jobs as the project prioritises resource efficiency and minimised water usage.
SoftBank is also developing a separate data centre site in Lordstown, Ohio, which is expected to be operational in 2026 as part of the broader infrastructure rollout.
SB Energy will integrate OpenAI enterprise software into its workforce to manage energy development and infrastructure delivery as it scales these large-scale operations.
Stargate rollout
The Stargate rollout began in January lasty year following a White House infrastructure summit and includes financial partners such as SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and the Abu Dhabi-backed investment firm MGX.
The initiative aims to deliver 10GW of total computing capacity by the end of 2025, with 7GW of planned capacity currently across Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Oracle previously signed a $300 billion agreement with OpenAI to develop 4.5 gigawatts of this capacity, while NVIDIA has committed $100 billion to supply processors for the various planned campuses.
The partnership has already activated a flagship site in Abilene, Texas, which utilises Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and server hardware provided by the JV.
The Stargate project footprint expanded internationally late last year with the announcement of "Stargate Argentina" - a $25 billion project in Patagonia - and the 1-gigawatt "Stargate UAE" project in the Middle East.