OpenAI has struck agreements to develop five new US data centres, pushing the cost of its AI infrastructure project Stargate to about $400bn, the latest in a series of recent megadeals by the lossmaking start-up.
Tuesday’s announcement will expand Stargate, whose other backers include SoftBank and US software group Oracle, from a single site in Abilene, Texas, to half a dozen around the country.
Stargate’s backers have pitched the high-profile infrastructure project as the cornerstone of America’s efforts to lead in artificial intelligence and remain ahead of Chinese competition. But OpenAI and its partners must still raise the enormous sums required to fund the sites.