Key Points
- OpenAI and SoftBank are investing a combined $1 billion in SB Energy.
- The money will be used to build data centers for their Stargate AI initiative.
- SB Energy will build and operate a massive 1.2-gigawatt data center in Texas.
- The move highlights the growing trend of tech companies investing directly in power infrastructure.
OpenAI and SoftBank are pouring a combined $1 billion into SB Energy, a power infrastructure company owned by SoftBank. The investment, announced on Friday, will see each company contribute $500 million to build massive data centers needed to power the future of artificial intelligence.
This is all part of a huge, multi-year project called Stargate. Backed by major players such as Oracle and supported by President Trump, the Stargate initiative aims to invest $500 billion to build a network of AI data centers for training and running advanced AI models.
As part of this new deal, SB Energy will be responsible for building and operating a massive 1.2-gigawatt data center in Milam County, Texas. This highlights a growing trend in the tech industry: as the demand for AI skyrockets, access to electricity has become a major bottleneck. To address this, tech companies are investing directly in power infrastructure to ensure they have the energy they need.
In an interesting twist, SB Energy will also become an OpenAI customer. The company plans to use OpenAI’s APIs and give its employees access to ChatGPT.
This investment comes at a critical time for OpenAI. The company is facing intense competition from Google’s Gemini and is in a “code red” mode to improve ChatGPT.
The race to build the most powerful AI is incredibly expensive, and securing the necessary power and infrastructure is a key factor. This $1 billion investment is a clear sign that OpenAI and its partners are willing to spend whatever it takes to win.
