- Stargate project has not started building any data centres as of February 2026
- OpenAI and SoftBank disputes delayed the Texas campus construction for months
- Stargate aims for 10 gigawatts of AI computing power and $500 billion funding
The Stargate project which was first unveiled in January 2025 has still not started development on any of its data centres, according to a report from The Information. The report underscored OpenAI's disagreements with SoftBank regarding the AI infrastructure projects as the main reason for the notable delay.
Stargate LLC, announced by US President Donald Trump on Jan. 21, 2025, is a massive AI joint venture which involved tech company OpenAI, Japanese investment firm SoftBank, AI infrastructure provider Oracle as well as the UAE's state-owned investment firm MGX.
The project has funding worth as high as $500 billion, with the goal to provide 10 gigawatts of computing power from AI datacentres, along with $100 billion in close to immediate spending.
Despite this, OpenAI and SoftBank have been in a deadlock with regards to who would own, fund, and build the Texas campus, with the disagreement lasting months and leading to the former losing out on construction time as well as its general contractor.
This ultimately led to OpenAI putting the project aside after failing to go solo and undertake the construction by itself. The AI firm which is well known for spending billions of dollars on its various projects and investments found it challenging to enumerate a viable route to profitability that would sway would-be lenders, with the earliest projection for profit-making being 2029.
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Billionaire Elon Musk, founder of xAI, seems to have predicted a similar scenario a year earlier as he had stated on his social media platform 'X' that the LLC lacked the funding required to bring its vision to life.
"They don't actually have the money," he wrote in a post on Jan. 22, 2025, replying to OpenAI's announcement of Stargate, and further claiming that SoftBank had funds below $10 billion.
Altman responded by stating that Musk "surely knew" that he was wrong about SoftBank and invited him to visit the first site which he claimed was "already underway".
"This is great for the country. I realize what is great for the country isn't always what's optimal for your companies, but in your new role I hope you'll mostly put USA first," Altman replied.
They don't actually have the money
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 22, 2025
Coming to the present day in February 2026, Stargate is yet to see work commence on its projects with Open AI missing its goal to hit 10 gigawatts of capacity by the end of 2025, with its estimated spending on computing power going up to $665 billion from $450 billion.
The firm had to avail the compute services of AWS and Google Cloud to make up for their increased costs despite its many endeavours having been geared towards creating independence from such platforms.
Musk took to 'X' on Monday to acknowledge a post that claimed that he "turned out to be correct" saying, "Hardware is hard."
He also replied to a similar post that spoke about Musk's existing personal experience in the tech hardware space. "Those who have tried to do so at scale will understand," he stated.
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