OpenAI and SoftBank are teaming up on massive AI data centers

Business Jan 10, 2026

OpenAI and SoftBank just dropped $1 billion—split right down the middle—into SB Energy for the Stargate project, which is all about building next-level AI data centers.
This move is part of a much bigger $500 billion plan that kicked off last year with some big-name backing from Oracle and President Donald Trump.

Texas gets a giant new AI hub—and ChatGPT upgrades are coming

SB Energy (a SoftBank company) will set up a huge 1.2-gigawatt data center in Milam County, Texas to help speed up more AI campuses.
They'll also start using OpenAI's APIs and ChatGPT for their own work.
All this comes as OpenAI works to level up ChatGPT, especially since Google's been stepping up its own AI game.
The first Stargate sites should be running by the end of this year.