OpenAI and SoftBank Group announced a joint $1 billion investment in SB Energy, the latest mega-investment in the race to build the physical infrastructure necessary to power advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
The investment, split equally between the two companies at $500 million each, is intended to accelerate construction of AI-focused data centers across the U.S. as part of the Stargate Project, a sprawling initiative announced a year ago.
With the deal, SB Energy becomes a central player in what has become a critical bottleneck for the AI industry: Securing sufficient power and real estate to support increasingly demanding computational workloads. More broadly, the deal reflects a fundamental shift in AI competition, where controlling the physical backbone of computing infrastructure — from land acquisition to power generation — has become as strategically important as developing advanced algorithms or securing semiconductor supply chains.
OpenAI had already selected SB Energy to construct and manage a 1.2-gigawatt data center in Milam County, Texas, which will serve as a cornerstone of the company’s infrastructure expansion. Construction on initial sites has begun, with facilities expected to come online starting in 2026. SB Energy is also developing several multi-gigawatt data center campuses across the region to support the growing demand.
The partnership establishes a non-exclusive preferred agreement among OpenAI, SoftBank Group, and SB Energy to create a new model for data center development. The approach integrates OpenAI’s design specifications for AI-optimized facilities with SB Energy’s expertise in project execution and integrated energy supply.
“Partnering with SB Energy brings together their strength in data center infrastructure and energy development and OpenAI’s deep domain expertise in data center engineering,” OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman said in a statement. “The result is a fast, reliable way to scale compute through large, highly optimized AI data centers.”
Stargate represents a broader collaboration between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle Corp., and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, with industry analysts projecting AI-related infrastructure spending in the United States could reach several hundred billion dollars by 2030. The initiative builds on a $500 billion commitment announced at the White House in January 2025.
To strengthen operational capabilities, SB Energy recently acquired Studio 151, a company specializing in data center construction management and operations across more than 20 previous projects. The acquisition is intended to help SB Energy manage increasingly complex developments as demand for AI computing power continues to surge.
“SB Energy’s strategic partnership with OpenAI accelerates our delivery of advanced AI data center campuses and associated energy infrastructure at the scale required to advance Stargate and secure America’s AI future,” SB Energy co-CEO Rich Hossfeld said in a statement.
