OpenAI and SoftBank Group Corp. have jointly invested $1 billion in SB Energy, an infrastructure company that’s working with the tech firms on a massive US buildout of data centers to power artificial intelligence.
OpenAI and SoftBank will each invest $500 million in SB Energy to support the energy firm’s growth as a data center developer and operator, the companies said in a statement Friday. OpenAI also said it has selected SB Energy to build and operate its 1.2 gigawatt data center in Milam County, Texas. A single gigawatt is enough to power roughly 750,000 US homes at any given moment.
The companies did not disclose a valuation for the investment.
For large tech firms, securing power is key in their quest to satisfy lofty AI ambitions. That’s created a race for energy to support more and larger data centers — and is helping drive up electricity demand.
The need for power is leading some to invest in suppliers or plants, or line up their own energy sources. Meta Platforms Inc. on Friday said it has agreed to deals that could ultimately total more than 6 gigawatts of nuclear power.
SB Energy, which has long been backed by SoftBank, was founded as a renewable and storage developer, but has in recent years expanded into developing, owning and operating data centers. The new funding follows SB Energy lining up $800 million last year from Ares Infrastructure Opportunities funds.
The tie-up with SoftBank and OpenAI adds to a growing web of interconnected deals between tech companies that are helping to prop up the AI sector and raising concerns about the possible fallout if demand for artificial intelligence falls short of expectations. SoftBank is one of OpenAI’s largest investors.
The SB Energy partnership builds on OpenAI’s Stargate initiative, a joint project between the AI startup and partners including SoftBank and Oracle Corp with the goal of spending $500 billion on data centers and infrastructure for AI in the US over four years. The project’s first site is a massive data center in Abilene, Texas, developed by Oracle and built alongside development partner Crusoe.
SB Energy is developing several multi-gigawatt data center campuses.
OpenAI and SoftBank will each invest $500 million in SB Energy to support the energy firm’s growth as a data center developer and operator, the companies said in a statement Friday. OpenAI also said it has selected SB Energy to build and operate its 1.2 gigawatt data center in Milam County, Texas. A single gigawatt is enough to power roughly 750,000 US homes at any given moment.
The companies did not disclose a valuation for the investment.
For large tech firms, securing power is key in their quest to satisfy lofty AI ambitions. That’s created a race for energy to support more and larger data centers — and is helping drive up electricity demand.
The need for power is leading some to invest in suppliers or plants, or line up their own energy sources. Meta Platforms Inc. on Friday said it has agreed to deals that could ultimately total more than 6 gigawatts of nuclear power.
SB Energy, which has long been backed by SoftBank, was founded as a renewable and storage developer, but has in recent years expanded into developing, owning and operating data centers. The new funding follows SB Energy lining up $800 million last year from Ares Infrastructure Opportunities funds.
The tie-up with SoftBank and OpenAI adds to a growing web of interconnected deals between tech companies that are helping to prop up the AI sector and raising concerns about the possible fallout if demand for artificial intelligence falls short of expectations. SoftBank is one of OpenAI’s largest investors.
The SB Energy partnership builds on OpenAI’s Stargate initiative, a joint project between the AI startup and partners including SoftBank and Oracle Corp with the goal of spending $500 billion on data centers and infrastructure for AI in the US over four years. The project’s first site is a massive data center in Abilene, Texas, developed by Oracle and built alongside development partner Crusoe.
SB Energy is developing several multi-gigawatt data center campuses.