OpenAI trims data‑center commitments
Computerworld reports OpenAI pulled out of a second Stargate data‑center deal, a move analysts interpreted as a more conservative infrastructure stance as the company prepares for a possible IPO. The report frames the decision as part of a broader re‑examination of large capacity commitments (computerworld.com).
OpenAI has walked away from a second Stargate data-center deal in six weeks, pulling back from a Norway project that Microsoft will now fill. (computerworld.com) CNBC reported on April 15 that OpenAI dropped plans to rent capacity at Nscale’s 230-megawatt Narvik campus in Norway, where Microsoft is now taking the spare capacity. Nscale said the expanded Microsoft agreement adds more than 30,000 Nvidia Rubin graphics processors for deployment in 2027. (cnbc.com) (nscale.com) OpenAI told CNBC it is discussing renting that Norway compute from Microsoft instead of contracting directly with Nscale. The company pointed to its October 2025 agreement to buy an additional $250 billion of Azure cloud services from Microsoft. (cnbc.com) (openai.com) The Norway decision follows another Stargate retrenchment in the United Kingdom. CNBC reported on April 9 that OpenAI paused its United Kingdom project with Nscale and Nvidia, citing energy costs and the country’s regulatory environment. (cnbc.com) A data center is the warehouse-sized backbone behind tools like ChatGPT: rows of servers packed with specialized chips, heavy power demand, and long-term leases for electricity and cloud capacity. Stargate is OpenAI’s umbrella for lining up that infrastructure years in advance, often with partners such as Oracle, SoftBank, Microsoft, and Nscale. (openai.com) (cnbc.com) That buildout looked expansive in September 2025, when OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank said Stargate had nearly 7 gigawatts of planned capacity and more than $400 billion in investment tied to the project over three years. The same announcement said the group was still targeting a $500 billion, 10-gigawatt commitment first unveiled in January 2025. (openai.com) (cnbc.com) The pullback is not limited to Europe. Reuters reported on March 6 that Oracle and OpenAI also abandoned a planned 600-megawatt expansion near the flagship Abilene, Texas, Stargate site after talks dragged over financing and OpenAI’s changing needs. (usnews.com) OpenAI has not said it is abandoning Stargate altogether. Its September 2025 post said the Abilene campus was already running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and that five additional United States sites in Texas, New Mexico, Ohio, Wisconsin, and Milam County were part of the rollout. (openai.com) Computerworld said analysts read the latest move as a more conservative approach to infrastructure spending as OpenAI heads toward a possible initial public offering. For now, the company is still pursuing compute in Norway — just through Microsoft, not on its own balance sheet. (computerworld.com) (cnbc.com)
