OpenAI and SoftBank Invest $1 Billion in SB Energy

OpenAI and SoftBank have announced a major $1 billion (£743.9 million) investment in SB Energy to establish advanced data centres in the US. As part of the $500 billion (£371,9 billion) Stargate Project, this partnership will see SB Energy take responsibility for the construction and operation of the OpenAI 1.2GW data centre in Texas.

In a clear sign of support for the future of AI, this infrastructure is essential if AI is going to continue its growth and be able to handle bumper demand. The agreement will also include SB Energy becoming a client of OpenAI, with the firm offering ChatGPT to all its staff.

“Partnering with SB Energy brings together their strength in data centre infrastructure and energy development and OpenAI’s deep domain expertise in data centre engineering,” said OpenAI co-founder and President Greg Brockman. “The result is a fast, reliable way to scale compute through large, highly optimised AI data centres.”

SB Energy is already developing several gigawatt-sized data centres, with the first of these expected to fully come online later this year. In collaboration with Texan authorities, the data centre will support the energy needs of residents and minimise water usage. Thousands of jobs will be created as a result of this project.

To meet the growing demand for AI compute power, many more of these data centre facilities will need to be built in the coming years. It’s unlikely that massive investments in AI and its supporting infrastructure will slow down anytime soon.

“SB Energy’s strategic partnership with OpenAI accelerates our delivery of advanced AI data centre campuses and associated energy infrastructure at the scale required to advance Stargate and secure America’s AI future,” said SB Energy co-CEO Rich Hossfeld. “We are grateful for our longstanding sponsor SoftBank Group and new partner OpenAI for their investment in our platform, our team, and our long-term vision.”

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