Introduction

In January 2025, OpenAI, Oracle, SoftBank, and MGX announced Stargate—a $500 billion initiative to build the physical infrastructure for next-generation AI. Eighteen months later, the project has evolved from a splashy White House promise into a real-world test of whether the AI industry can build at a scale never attempted before .

Stargate now spans seven U.S. locations, all showing active development. OpenAI claims it has already secured 10 GW of AI infrastructure capacity, ahead of its original 2029 target . But the gap between contracted capacity and operational compute remains substantial, and the project faces mounting challenges around energy, financing, and community consent .

Abilene, Texas: The Flagship Campus

Abilene is Stargate’s first and most advanced site. The 1,100-acre campus on the outskirts of Abilene is owned by Oracle and used by OpenAI .

Current Status

The Abilene campus is operational. As of September 2026, it hosts an estimated 509,000 H100-equivalents of compute, supported by 421 MW of IT power at a capital cost of $15.9 billion . By Q4 2026, Epoch AI projects the site will rise to **1,019,000 H100-equivalents**, **843 MW of IT power**, and a cost of $31.9 billion .

The site uses Nvidia B200 and B300 chips and employs air-cooled chiller cooling .

Buildout Timeline

Construction began in May 2024 with land clearing for the first two buildings. Building 1 became fully operational around September 26, 2025. Building 2 reached operational status by December 24, 2025. Buildings 3 and 4 appeared complete by March 2026 but were still ramping up .

A Scaled-Back Expansion

In March 2026, Oracle and OpenAI withdrew plans to expand the Abilene campus to 600 MW, opting instead to deploy additional capacity at other locations . The existing 1.2 GW campus remains under the original $300 billion Oracle-OpenAI agreement signed in September 2025 .

Microsoft subsequently agreed to rent a separate 700 MW data center project in Abilene that Oracle and OpenAI had walked away from, striking a deal with developer Crusoe .

Lordstown, Ohio: From GM Plant to AI Factory

The Lordstown site centers on a former General Motors plant—later owned by Foxconn—being retooled to manufacture data center equipment like Nvidia servers .

Current Status

The Lordstown facility is under construction. As of September 2026, it hosts 0 H100-equivalents and 0 MW of IT power. Epoch AI projects the site will reach 546,000 H100-equivalents and 214 MW of IT power at a capital cost of $8.1 billion, with an operational target of March 1, 2027 .

The project is owned by SoftBank and used by OpenAI .

Buildout Timeline

Land clearing began in October 2025. By February 2026, there was still no visible construction, though work was underway within preexisting facilities. By July 30, 2026, active construction was visible, with roofing mostly in place .

The Ohio Expansion

In August 2026, OpenAI finalized a separate, much larger Ohio project: an 8 GW data center at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, leased from SB Energy under a 20-year agreement .

Nvidia is providing $105 billion in credit support** for the land, power, and shell buildout associated with the initial 4.25 GW. Nvidia also invested **$1.5 billion in SB Energy, and SoftBank and OpenAI invested $1 billion combined. The buildout will take six years and create 35,000 construction jobs through 2032 .

Doña Ana County, New Mexico: Project Jupiter

The New Mexico site, known as “Project Jupiter,” spans 1,400 acres with four data center buildings, micro-grid facilities, natural gas power plants, a battery storage center, and a desalination plant .

Current Status

Oracle confirmed it will be the tenant of Project Jupiter, using it to host AI infrastructure for OpenAI. The campus is being developed by Stack and BorderPlex Digital Assets, with a planned investment of up to $165 billion .

Community Benefits and Controversy

Oracle will pay more than $600 million in Gross Revenue Tax payments** to the state and county, plus **$320 million in direct payments to Doña Ana County for schools, infrastructure, and local services, and an additional $50 million to help repair the county’s water system .

The project has faced significant backlash. The Empowerment Congress of Doña Ana County and two residents sued the County Commission, arguing the project did not provide enough information and that approval was marred by procedural irregularities . In March 2026, the New Mexico State Land Office denied several applications for a natural gas pipeline right-of-way, citing concerns about the project’s environmental impact. The proposed data center would generate up to 2,880 MW and emit 14 million tons of greenhouse gases per year .

Oracle says the data center will use a closed-loop, non-evaporative cooling system and its own dedicated microgrid, ensuring no impact to ratepayers .

Port Washington, Wisconsin: Vantage’s Lighthouse Campus

In December 2025, Vantage Data Centers broke ground on its Lighthouse campus in Port Washington, Wisconsin—a $15 billion Stargate-related project .

Current Status

The project is planned to deliver four data centers totaling 902 MW of IT capacity across 674 acres, featuring closed-loop cooling and other sustainability-focused design elements .

Saline Township, Michigan: A $50 Billion Campus

OpenAI announced the Michigan Stargate campus in October 2025 as part of its 4.5 GW partnership with Oracle. The site is being developed by Related Digital .

Current Status

Construction is expected to create more than 2,500 union construction jobs. The site will use a closed-loop cooling system that significantly reduces water consumption. DTE Energy will serve the campus using existing excess transmission capacity, and any upgrades required will be funded by the project, not local ratepayers .

In July 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the Michigan supercomputer project had officially broken ground. The total planned capacity is 1 GW, with an initial investment of $16 billion** for site preparation and construction, plus at least **$30 billion for hardware and software procurement—bringing total investment to $45-50 billion .

Other Sites

Three additional Stargate locations have been announced in Shackelford County, Texas , and an undisclosed Midwest location . A ban on future data centers in Lordstown and local opposition to the Michigan site have been noted as political challenges .

The Gap Between Contracted and Operational Capacity

OpenAI claims it has surpassed its 10 GW infrastructure goal ahead of schedule, adding 3 GW in the last 90 days alone . However, this is likely contracted capacity rather than live compute. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar said the company ended 2025 with 1.9 GW of operational compute .

The company has also shifted its strategy, moving from building its own sites to relying more on cloud capacity. In February 2026, OpenAI signed an agreement to use 2 GW of Amazon Web Services’ Trainium chips, expanding its cloud contract by $100 billion .

Conclusion

Stargate represents the largest single AI infrastructure buildout ever attempted. The Abilene campus is operational and expanding. Lordstown is under construction with a 2027 target. Project Jupiter is moving forward despite legal challenges. Wisconsin and Michigan are in early stages.

The project’s success now hinges on whether it can scale faster than the mounting risks around energy, financing, governance, and community consent . As one analyst put it, Stargate is increasingly operating as a prototype for gigawatt-scale AI campuses integrated with dedicated energy strategies—a model that treats compute, power, and capital as a single system .

Whether that model works will be determined over the next several years. For now, the buildout continues.