OpenAI will lease 4.5 gigawatts of U.S. data center power from Oracle as part of its $500 billion Stargate initiative, according to CNBC. The unprecedented agreement underpins at least part of Oracle’s recently disclosed $30 billion cloud contract set to begin in fiscal 2028. Stargate is OpenAI’s $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative with partners like Oracle and SoftBank, first announced in January at the White House. Oracle will build and expand data centers across several states, including Texas, Wisconsin, and Michigan, to meet the demand, with the Abilene, Texas, site set to nearly double its current capacity. Oracle shares closed up 5% to a record $229.98 on the news, extending a 38% rally this year fueled by growing cloud demand. S&P noted concerns about short-term cash flow pressures from Oracle’s spending but supported its long-term cloud strategy.
