The most ambitious infrastructure project in AI history is picking up speed. OpenAI and SoftBank Group announced this week they will invest $500 million each in SB Energy, bringing a combined $1 billion commitment to expand power infrastructure for their massive Stargate initiative.

The investment represents the latest milestone in a project that promises to reshape America's technological landscape—and its energy grid along with it.

What Is Stargate?

Stargate LLC is a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and investment firm MGX, announced by President Trump in January 2025. The venture plans to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure across the United States by 2029.

Key players and their stakes:

  • SoftBank: 40% ownership, $19 billion initial commitment, CEO Masayoshi Son serves as chairman
  • OpenAI: 40% ownership, $19 billion initial commitment
  • Oracle: Contributing $7 billion
  • MGX: Contributing $7 billion

The venture launched with $100 billion in initial funding, with plans to scale to half a trillion dollars over four years.

The Energy Imperative

The $1 billion SB Energy investment addresses what has become AI's most pressing bottleneck: power.

SB Energy will build and operate OpenAI's 1.2-gigawatt data center site in Milam County, Texas—an enormous facility that alone would consume more electricity than many small cities.

"The demand for AI computing—for both training and inference—is going through the roof. We need to build the infrastructure to meet it."

— Stargate Project Statement

The scale of power requirements is staggering. AI data centers consume 10 to 50 times more energy per square foot than traditional data centers, and the industry's appetite is growing exponentially as models become larger and more complex.

Five New Sites, 7 Gigawatts of Capacity

OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank recently announced five new U.S. data center sites under the Stargate umbrella. Combined with the flagship Abilene, Texas facility—which is already operational with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and racks of Nvidia chips—the project now encompasses:

  • Nearly 7 gigawatts of planned capacity
  • Over $400 billion in investment over the next three years
  • Multiple sites across Texas and other states
  • Integration with Oracle's cloud infrastructure

To put 7 gigawatts in perspective: that's enough electricity to power roughly 5.5 million average American homes.

Going Global

Stargate is no longer just an American project. International expansion is already underway:

  • Stargate UAE: Expected to open in 2026, developed in partnership with G42, Oracle, SoftBank, Nvidia, and Cisco
  • Stargate Argentina: A deal with Sur Energy to develop an AI data center in Patagonia, with estimated investment up to $25 billion and 500 megawatts of capacity

The international expansion raises important questions about data sovereignty and the global distribution of AI capabilities.

The Investment Implications

Stargate's massive buildout creates investment opportunities across several sectors:

Chip Makers: Nvidia remains the primary beneficiary, as Stargate facilities are packed with its GPUs. AMD is positioning to capture some of this demand with its MI500 series.

Power Infrastructure: Companies involved in grid infrastructure, transformers, and power generation stand to benefit from the enormous electricity demands.

Real Estate: Data center REITs and developers in target regions could see significant appreciation.

Utilities: Electric utilities in Texas and other Stargate locations may benefit from increased demand, though they also face challenges meeting that demand.

The Risks

For all its promise, Stargate faces significant challenges:

  • Execution risk: Building $500 billion in infrastructure on a tight timeline is extraordinarily complex
  • Power constraints: Finding and delivering 7+ gigawatts of electricity is a massive undertaking
  • Regulatory uncertainty: Data center construction faces increasing scrutiny over environmental and resource impacts
  • Technology shifts: AI computing needs could evolve in unexpected ways

The Bigger Picture

Stargate represents more than just data centers—it's a bet on America's AI future. The project aims to ensure the United States maintains its lead in artificial intelligence development by building the physical infrastructure that cutting-edge AI requires.

Whether this $500 billion gamble pays off will depend on whether AI's promise translates into economic reality. For now, the shovels are in the ground, the power is coming online, and the race to build AI's physical backbone is accelerating.