Stargate expands with five new sites, anchoring more capacity in Texas

OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank named five additional data-center sites for their Stargate venture, including locations in Shackelford County and Milam County in Texas, alongside sites in New Mexico, Ohio and the Midwest. The additions bring planned capacity to nearly 7 gigawatts and total committed investment past $400 billion over three years.

The flagship cluster in Abilene, Texas remains the centerpiece, with eight data-center buildings under construction and the final structure due to finish by the end of 2026. Oracle separately said it expected to raise $45 billion to $50 billion in gross cash this year to fund cloud capacity tied to demand from customers including OpenAI.

Why it matters

Stargate is the physical backbone of the AI boom, and its scale ties model developers to power utilities, construction firms and chip suppliers across multiple states. The financing strain is already visible: Oracle and OpenAI scrapped a planned expansion of the Abilene flagship after talks dragged over financing and shifting needs, a reminder that even the largest commitments can move.

Texas is the geographic center of gravity for the project, concentrating jobs, grid demand and water-use questions in a handful of rural counties now reshaped by AI infrastructure.