Stargate LLC

Stargate LLC, commonly presented as the Stargate Project, is an artificial-intelligence infrastructure joint venture associated with OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and the Abu Dhabi investment firm MGX. The venture was formally announced in January 2025, although the Stargate name had already been used by OpenAI and Microsoft in 2024 for a proposed future supercomputer project. Its stated objective is to develop a very large network of data centers, power systems, and computing capacity in the United States and, through related international projects, in other markets. The venture launched with an announced initial investment target of approximately $100 billion and a longer-term ambition of deploying as much as $500 billion by 2029. These figures describe the planned scale of the program rather than a completed capital raise. SoftBank's chief executive Masayoshi Son serves as chairman, while SoftBank has been described as responsible for the project's financial arrangements and OpenAI as responsible for operational direction. Oracle, Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI were identified as important initial technology or infrastructure partners. Stargate's first prominent development activity centered on data-center construction in Abilene, Texas. The project was described as involving multiple facilities and substantial new energy infrastructure, reflecting the electricity and cooling requirements of advanced AI workloads. The venture's proponents presented it as a national-scale industrial program that could create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States. Its scale led commentators to compare it with other major government-supported scientific and industrial mobilizations, including the Manhattan Project, although Stargate is a commercial joint venture rather than a wartime government program. The January 2025 announcement took place at the White House with President Donald Trump, Sam Altman of OpenAI, Larry Ellison of Oracle, and Masayoshi Son. Trump said that emergency measures and executive action could be used to accelerate construction, particularly the energy infrastructure needed by the facilities. Ellison also linked AI infrastructure to potential biomedical applications, including AI-assisted design of mRNA cancer vaccines, though those claims describe possible downstream applications rather than products offered by Stargate itself. The venture's financing structure has remained a major subject of discussion. Reporting described proposed commitments of $19 billion each from SoftBank and OpenAI, with Oracle and MGX associated with $7 billion contributions each, while additional capital would come from limited partners and debt. Other reporting characterized a substantial portion of the planned funding as debt or debt-like financing. SoftBank later indicated that an initial $10 billion borrowing effort was expected to involve Mizuho and other lenders. JPMorgan Chase subsequently agreed to provide a $2.3 billion loan connected with the Abilene data-center projects, which involve Blue Owl Capital, Crusoe Energy Systems, and Primary Digital Infrastructure and are leased to Oracle. Stargate has also expanded beyond its original United States focus. OpenAI, Nvidia, Cisco, Oracle, SoftBank, and the UAE's G42 announced plans connected with UAE Stargate, with an expected opening in 2026. Additional United States sites were later identified in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, and an undisclosed Midwestern location. OpenAI said these plans represented nearly seven gigawatts of intended capacity and more than $400 billion of investment over three years, while maintaining the longer-term objective of reaching $500 billion and ten gigawatts. A proposed Stargate Argentina facility in Patagonia, developed with Sur Energy, was described as potentially involving up to $25 billion and 500 megawatts of capacity. The project has faced skepticism concerning funding, timing, trade policy, hardware valuations, energy availability, and the practicality of its headline investment target. Elon Musk questioned whether the venture had secured enough financing, a criticism rejected by Sam Altman; Arm chief executive Rene Haas publicly characterized the backing as solid. Because construction, financing, and international expansion have been announced in stages, the final scale and timetable of Stargate remain subject to execution, capital availability, permitting, power development, and technology-supply conditions.

The Stargate name entered AI-industry discussion before the creation of the present joint venture. OpenAI and Microsoft used it in 2024 for a proposed future supercomputer project estimated at around $100 billion. The name references the 1994 science-fiction film Stargate and evokes a gateway to other worlds, a metaphor for expanding access to exceptional computing capacity. The current Stargate venture was formally announced on January 21, 2025, at a White House event attended by President Donald Trump, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, Oracle chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison, and SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son. The announcement identified OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX as the principal participants. The stated program was to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure in the United States by 2029, beginning with an initial $100 billion-scale effort. Son became chairman. SoftBank was described as taking responsibility for financing, while OpenAI would direct operational matters. The initial development focus was a group of data centers in Abilene, Texas. These facilities were presented as the first major physical manifestation of the project and as part of a broader effort to create the power, cooling, networking, and computing systems needed by large AI models. Oracle, Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, and OpenAI were named as key early technology partners. The announcement also linked Stargate to employment creation, with a claim that the program could produce more than 100,000 jobs in the United States. Stargate's financing became a central issue immediately after its launch. Public descriptions referred to a $100 billion initial investment and a $500 billion long-term ambition, but the funding was expected to combine sponsor capital, outside investment, and borrowing. Reporting attributed proposed $19 billion contributions to both SoftBank and OpenAI and $7 billion contributions to Oracle and MGX, with additional funds expected from limited partners and debt. Other reporting suggested that only part of the program would be equity financed. SoftBank stated in April 2025 that an initial $10 billion borrowing effort would involve Mizuho and other lenders. In May, JPMorgan Chase agreed to lend $2.3 billion in connection with the Abilene data-center developments, which were being developed through a joint venture involving Blue Owl Capital, Crusoe Energy Systems, and Primary Digital Infrastructure and leased to Oracle. The project also attracted criticism and uncertainty. Elon Musk publicly questioned whether Stargate had enough financing to deliver the announced scale, while Altman disputed the criticism. Arm chief executive Rene Haas offered a more favorable assessment of the backing. Later reporting said that construction and fundraising had not advanced as rapidly as the original headlines suggested, citing market uncertainty, trade policy, and changing valuations for AI hardware as contributing factors. These disputes illustrate the difference between Stargate's announced capacity and investment targets and the portion that has been financed, built, or placed into operation. International expansion followed during 2025. OpenAI, Nvidia, Cisco, G42, Oracle, and SoftBank announced a UAE Stargate project expected to open in 2026. OpenAI later identified five more United States locations in Shackelford County, Texas; Doña Ana County, New Mexico; Lordstown, Ohio; Milam County, Texas; and an undisclosed Midwestern site. The company said these projects brought planned capacity close to seven gigawatts and planned investment above $400 billion over three years, while maintaining the objective of reaching $500 billion and ten gigawatts. In October 2025, OpenAI and Sur Energy announced Stargate Argentina, a proposed data center in Patagonia. The facility was described as potentially reaching 500 megawatts and requiring as much as $25 billion, which would make it one of the largest AI-computing projects in Latin America. Hardware supply plans also broadened: AMD was expected to provide up to six gigawatts of Instinct GPUs, with a possible OpenAI investment in AMD contingent on milestones, while Broadcom was associated with up to ten gigawatts of custom hardware. Stargate remains best understood as an infrastructure program and joint-venture brand rather than a conventional consumer product brand. Its future depends on financing, permitting, electricity generation and transmission, data-center construction, chip supply, cloud-capacity arrangements, and demand from OpenAI and other AI developers. The venture's public commitments are consequently milestones in an ongoing build-out, not evidence that the full proposed network is already operational.

• 2025

  Stargate LLC formally announced

  [1]Stargate LLCen.wikipedia.org

  OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX announced the joint venture and its ambition to build AI infrastructure at a potential $500 billion scale.

• 2025

  Abilene, Texas development becomes initial focus

  [1]Stargate LLCen.wikipedia.org

  The project identified a group of planned data centers in Abilene as an early construction location.

• 2025

  Initial borrowing plans disclosed

  [1]Stargate LLCen.wikipedia.org

  SoftBank said its first $10 billion of funding was expected to be borrowed from Mizuho and other lenders.

• 2025

  UAE Stargate announced

  [1]Stargate LLCen.wikipedia.org

  A consortium involving G42, OpenAI, Nvidia, Cisco, Oracle, and SoftBank announced plans for a UAE data-center project.

• 2025

  Five additional US sites announced

  [1]Stargate LLCen.wikipedia.org

  OpenAI announced additional planned locations in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, and the Midwest.

• 2025

  Stargate Argentina announced

  [1]Stargate LLCen.wikipedia.org

  OpenAI and Sur Energy announced a proposed Patagonia data center and the first Stargate-linked project in Latin America.

• 2024

  Earlier Stargate supercomputer concept identified

  [1]Stargate LLCen.wikipedia.org

  OpenAI and Microsoft used Stargate as the name for an earlier proposed AI supercomputer project.

A national-scale AI infrastructure platform intended to provide the computing capacity, data centers, energy systems, and associated technology required for advanced AI development.

• AI infrastructure · 2025

  Stargate Project data-center network

  The core offering is a planned network of large AI data centers and associated power, cooling, networking, and high-performance computing systems. The facilities are intended to supply infrastructure for advanced AI development, initially emphasizing OpenAI workloads. Planned US sites include Abilene and locations in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, and the Midwest.

• International AI infrastructure · 2025

  Stargate UAE

  Stargate UAE is a proposed United Arab Emirates AI data-center development associated with G42, OpenAI, Nvidia, Cisco, Oracle, and SoftBank. The project is intended to extend Stargate's infrastructure model into the Gulf region and was expected to open in 2026.

• International AI infrastructure · 2025

  Stargate Argentina

  Stargate Argentina is a proposed data center in Patagonia developed by OpenAI and Sur Energy. Announced capacity could reach 500 megawatts, with a reported potential investment of up to $25 billion.

• 2025

  Commit to a US-centered AI infrastructure build-outStrategy

  Background

  The partners sought to address the rapidly increasing computing and energy requirements of advanced AI systems.

  Action taken

  Stargate announced an initial investment scale of approximately $100 billion and a longer-term ambition of up to $500 billion by 2029.

  Aftermath

  The announcement established Stargate as a major AI infrastructure program, but its financing and construction timetable remained subject to further development.

  Announced potential investment. $100 billion initial scale; up to $500 billion by 2029 (Announced January 2025)

  • xAI — Elon Musk questioned whether Stargate had secured enough financing to meet its stated investment levels.

  Source

• 2025

  Adopt a mixed equity-and-debt financing approachOther

  Background

  The scale of the proposed infrastructure program required capital beyond the sponsors' direct contributions.

  Action taken

  SoftBank and OpenAI were reported as making substantial commitments, with Oracle and MGX also contributing and the remainder expected from limited partners and debt financing.

  Aftermath

  SoftBank disclosed borrowing plans, and JPMorgan Chase later agreed to provide financing associated with the Abilene projects.

  JPMorgan Chase loan. $2.3 billion (May 2025)

  Source

• 2025

  Expand Stargate internationallyStrategy

  Background

  The partners considered locations outside the United States to extend AI-computing capacity and establish regional infrastructure.

  Action taken

  The venture announced or explored projects in the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Argentina, with Stargate Argentina becoming the first announced Latin American site.

  Aftermath

  The program's geographic ambition expanded beyond its original US-centered presentation, although the projects remained in development.

  Source

1. 1Stargate LLCen.wikipedia.org