Microsoft Claims 900 MW Texas Data Center After OpenAI Backs Away From Expansion Plans

Microsoft lays claim to Crusoe's new 900 MW DC campus

Bitcoin farmer turned bit barn builder Crusoe revealed plans to add 900 megawatts of capacity to its Abilene Texas datacenter campus on Friday to support Microsoft's AI ambitions. The new campus will be located alongside the 1.2 gigawatt facility Crusoe is building for Oracle and OpenAI as part of its $500 billion Stargate initiative, announced early last year. Oracle and OpenAI had reportedly planned to lease the additional capacity until negotiations and financing fell through. Meta was expected to lay claim to the unbuilt and yet untapped datacenter expansion, but it seems Microsoft will now take up residence at the site instead. While Microsoft's relationship with OpenAI has certainly changed in recent years, its possible that Redmond could end up using the site to serve the model dev. The new campus will feature two new data halls along with an on-site power plant capable of delivering 900 MW of behind-the-meter energy to the facilities. The bit barns themselves will each support 336 megawatts of critical IT load. "By integrating 900 megawatts of new on-site power generation, we will continue building the industrial foundation for American AI - at a velocity the industry has never seen," Chase Lochmiller, Crusoe CEO said in a canned statement. According to Crusoe, this expansion will bring the site's capacity to 2.1 gigawatts, though "capacity" seems to be doing a lot of the heavy lifting here. Only about 200 megawatts of existing 1.2 gigawatt projects have actually been powered on. Crusoe says that the remaining gigawatt should come online throughout 2026. Work on the second campus, which Microsoft's AI models and services will call home, is currently in the "land-clearing and site preparation" phase. Crusoe doesn't anticipate the facilities will be operational until the middle of next year. Crusoe didn't elaborate on how its on-site power plants generate their power, but given the timeline, natural gas generators or fuel cells are the most likely candidates. We've reached out to Crusoe for comment; we'll let you know if we hear anything back. ®

Microsoft to Rent Texas Data Center Dropped by Oracle, OpenAI

Ask Mark Gurman Anything About Apple Ask Mark Gurman Anything About Apple Ask Mark Gurman Anything About Apple From its latest devices, to an AI comeback and the future after Tim Cook, join the live conversation on Thursday, March 26 at 11 a.m. EDT. From its latest devices, to an AI comeback and the future after Tim Cook, join the live conversation on Thursday, March 26 at 11 a.m. EDT. From its latest devices, to an AI comeback and the future after Tim Cook, join the live conversation on Thursday, March 26 at 11 a.m. EDT. Click to listen Click to listen Click to listen Click to listen Microsoft Corp. has agreed to rent a data center project in Texas that was originally being developed for Oracle Corp. and OpenAI, according to people familiar with the situation. Representing about 700 megawatts of capacity, the site in Abilene is adjacent to Oracle's and OpenAI's flagship Stargate campus. Microsoft struck the deal with developer Crusoe after the two companies walked away from talks to occupy the site, said the people, who were granted anonymity to discuss a private matter. The world's largest software maker has stepped up data-center leasing in an attempt to meet demand for its cloud-computing customers as well as for internal work on artificial intelligence. During its most recent quarter, Microsoft inked about $50 billion in commitments to lease server farms under development. The flurry of activity marks a reversal from about this time last year, when the company hit pause on many data center projects. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that negotiations for Oracle and OpenAI to occupy the facilities on the Abilene site had dragged over financing and OpenAI's often-changing needs before falling apart. OpenAI said at the time that it opted to use alternative data centers. Meta Platforms Inc. also discussed renting the site, and The Information earlier reported that Microsoft, too, was in talks to lease it. Microsoft, Crusoe and Meta all declined to comment. The Abilene site is among the highest-profile of the AI era, and will now feature two rivals -- Microsoft and Oracle -- on the same greater campus. Oracle has been rapidly filling buildings there with servers, which are used by OpenAI to train and deploy its products.

Microsoft to rent Texas data center dropped by Oracle and OpenAI, Bloomberg News reports

March 24 (Reuters) - Microsoft has agreed to rent a data center project in Texas that was originally being developed for Oracle and OpenAI, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the situation. The Abilene site, which accounts for roughly 700 megawatts of capacity, sits next to Oracle (ORCL.N), opens new tab and OpenAI's flagship Stargate campus, ⁠the report said. Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab struck an agreement with developer Crusoe after both Oracle and OpenAI walked away from talks to occupy the site, according to the report. A source familiar with the matter, however, told Reuters that there are no changes to OpenAI's existing agreements with Oracle. A spokesperson for Microsoft said it had nothing to share, while ⁠Oracle and Crusoe did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that Oracle and OpenAI had abandoned plans to expand an AI data center ⁠in Texas after negotiations dragged over financing and OpenAI's changing needs. Oracle later said the claims that planned capacity at the ⁠Abilene site is delayed were inaccurate. Technology companies have been pouring billions of dollars into data centers to ⁠power generative AI services such as ChatGPT and Copilot, which require huge amounts of computing power. Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Microsoft takes over a Texas AI data center expansion after OpenAI backs away

Microsoft is taking over a data center construction project in Texas after OpenAI declined to pursue it, in a move that will make the two companies neighbors at one of the nation's largest complexes for running artificial intelligence. Data center developer Crusoe said Friday it is working with Microsoft to build two new "AI factory" buildings and an on-site power plant in Abilene, Texas, right next to where Crusoe has been building an even larger computing campus for OpenAI and Oracle. OpenAI's existing project, the flagship of a broader initiative called Stargate, is so massive that President Donald Trump was the first to officially announce it just after his inauguration last year to signal AI investments he called a "resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential." Microsoft was once OpenAI's exclusive cloud computing provider and still holds a roughly 27% stake in the ChatGPT maker, but the two companies are increasingly pursuing AI development separately, even though they are on the same tract of land. Crusoe has already completed two buildings for OpenAI and its other cloud partner, Oracle, supplying a surge of computing power that helps build and operate technology like ChatGPT. SoftBank was also an investment partner. Crusoe is still completing six more buildings for OpenAI and Oracle due to be completed by the end of this year. OpenAI said earlier this month that it dropped plans to expand its Abilene project even further. "Our flagship Stargate site is one of the largest AI data center campuses in the United States," said Sachin Katti, OpenAI's head of compute infrastructure, in a post on X. "We considered expanding it further, but ultimately chose to put that additional capacity in other locations." Katti said OpenAI has more than half a dozen sites under development across the United States, including one it is building with Oracle in Wisconsin. Microsoft's additional two Abilene facilities announced Friday will bring the total number to 10 data center buildings, expected to supply a stunning 2.1 gigawatts of computing capacity from what was once a vast tract of mesquite shrub lands, home to coyote and roadrunners. Originally planned as a facility to mine cryptocurrency, developers pivoted and expanded their designs after ChatGPT sparked an AI boom. Crusoe co-founder and CEO Chase Lochmiller said in a written statement that a new power plant attached to the Microsoft project will be able to generate 900 megawatts to "continue building the industrial foundation for American AI -- at a velocity the industry has never seen." That will be larger than the existing 350-megawatt, gas-fired power plant attached to the OpenAI and Oracle project. Oracle has previously described that on-site plant as a backup source of power, since the data centers primarily draw from the region's electricity grid, which includes power supplied by nearby wind farms. The AI race has been complicating tech companies' commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, most of which come from the burning of gas, oil and coal and drive climate change. "We're burning gas to run this data center," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said while visiting Abilene last year, adding that "in the long trajectory of Stargate" the hope is to rely on many other power sources.

Microsoft is picking up a Texas data center project OpenAI didn't want, in a telling sign of how far they've drifted apart | Fortune

Microsoft is taking over a data center construction project in Texas after OpenAI declined to pursue it, in a move that will make the two companies neighbors at one of the nation's largest complexes for running artificial intelligence. Data center developer Crusoe said Friday it is working with Microsoft to build two new "AI factory" buildings and an on-site power plant in Abilene, Texas, right next to where Crusoe has been building an even larger computing campus for OpenAI and Oracle. OpenAI's existing project, the flagship of a broader initiative called Stargate, is so massive that President Donald Trump was the first to officially announce it just after his inauguration last year to signal AI investments he called a "resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential." Microsoft was once OpenAI's exclusive cloud computing provider and still holds a roughly 27% stake in the ChatGPT maker, but the two companies are increasingly pursuing AI development separately, even though they are on the same tract of land. Crusoe has already completed two buildings for OpenAI and its other cloud partner, Oracle, supplying a surge of computing power that helps build and operate technology like ChatGPT. SoftBank was also an investment partner. Crusoe is still completing six more buildings for OpenAI and Oracle due to be completed by the end of this year. OpenAI said earlier this month that it dropped plans to expand its Abilene project even further. "Our flagship Stargate site is one of the largest AI data center campuses in the United States," said Sachin Katti, OpenAI's head of compute infrastructure, in a post on X. "We considered expanding it further, but ultimately chose to put that additional capacity in other locations." Katti said OpenAI has more than half a dozen sites under development across the United States, including one it is building with Oracle in Wisconsin. Microsoft's additional two Abilene facilities announced Friday will bring the total number to 10 data center buildings, expected to supply a stunning 2.1 gigawatts of computing capacity from what was once a vast tract of mesquite shrub lands, home to coyote and roadrunners. Originally planned as a facility to mine cryptocurrency, developers pivoted and expanded their designs after ChatGPT sparked an AI boom. Crusoe co-founder and CEO Chase Lochmiller said in a written statement that a new power plant attached to the Microsoft project will be able to generate 900 megawatts to "continue building the industrial foundation for American AI -- at a velocity the industry has never seen." That will be larger than the existing 350-megawatt, gas-fired power plant attached to the OpenAI and Oracle project. Oracle has previously described that on-site plant as a backup source of power, since the data centers primarily draw from the region's electricity grid, which includes power supplied by nearby wind farms. The AI race has been complicating tech companies' commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, most of which come from the burning of gas, oil and coal and drive climate change. "We're burning gas to run this data center," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said while visiting Abilene last year, adding that "in the long trajectory of Stargate" the hope is to rely on many other power sources.

Microsoft takes over a Texas AI data center expansion after OpenAI backs away

Microsoft is taking over a data center construction project in Texas after OpenAI declined to pursue it, in a move that will make the two companies neighbors at one of the nation's largest complexes for running artificial intelligence. Data center developer Crusoe said Friday it is working with Microsoft to build two new "AI factory" buildings and an on-site power plant in Abilene, Texas, right next to where Crusoe has been building an even larger computing campus for OpenAI and Oracle. OpenAI's existing project, the flagship of a broader initiative called Stargate, is so massive that President Donald Trump was the first to officially announce it just after his inauguration last year to signal AI investments he called a "resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential." Microsoft was once OpenAI's exclusive cloud computing provider and still holds a roughly 27% stake in the ChatGPT maker, but the two companies are increasingly pursuing AI development separately, even though they are on the same tract of land. Crusoe has already completed two buildings for OpenAI and its other cloud partner, Oracle, supplying a surge of computing power that helps build and operate technology like ChatGPT. SoftBank was also an investment partner. Crusoe is still completing six more buildings for OpenAI and Oracle due to be completed by the end of this year. OpenAI said earlier this month that it dropped plans to expand its Abilene project even further. "Our flagship Stargate site is one of the largest AI data center campuses in the United States," said Sachin Katti, OpenAI's head of compute infrastructure, in a post on X. "We considered expanding it further, but ultimately chose to put that additional capacity in other locations." Katti said OpenAI has more than half a dozen sites under development across the United States, including one it is building with Oracle in Wisconsin. Microsoft's additional two Abilene facilities announced Friday will bring the total number to 10 data center buildings, expected to supply a stunning 2.1 gigawatts of computing capacity from what was once a vast tract of mesquite shrub lands, home to coyote and roadrunners. Originally planned as a facility to mine cryptocurrency, developers pivoted and expanded their designs after ChatGPT sparked an AI boom. Crusoe co-founder and CEO Chase Lochmiller said in a written statement that a new power plant attached to the Microsoft project will be able to generate 900 megawatts to "continue building the industrial foundation for American AI -- at a velocity the industry has never seen." That will be larger than the existing 350-megawatt, gas-fired power plant attached to the OpenAI and Oracle project. Oracle has previously described that on-site plant as a backup source of power, since the data centers primarily draw from the region's electricity grid, which includes power supplied by nearby wind farms. The AI race has been complicating tech companies' commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, most of which come from the burning of gas, oil and coal and drive climate change. "We're burning gas to run this data center," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said while visiting Abilene last year, adding that "in the long trajectory of Stargate" the hope is to rely on many other power sources.

Microsoft Takes Over a Texas AI Data Center Expansion After OpenAI Backs Away

Microsoft is taking over a data center construction project in Texas after OpenAI declined to pursue it, in a move that will make the two companies neighbors at one of the nation's largest complexes for running artificial intelligence. Data center developer Crusoe said Friday it is working with Microsoft to build two new "AI factory" buildings and an on-site power plant in Abilene, Texas, right next to where Crusoe has been building an even larger computing campus for OpenAI and Oracle. OpenAI's existing project, the flagship of a broader initiative called Stargate, is so massive that President Donald Trump was the first to officially announce it just after his inauguration last year to signal AI investments he called a "resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential." Microsoft was once OpenAI's exclusive cloud computing provider and still holds a roughly 27% stake in the ChatGPT maker, but the two companies are increasingly pursuing AI development separately, even though they are on the same tract of land. Crusoe has already completed two buildings for OpenAI and its other cloud partner, Oracle, supplying a surge of computing power that helps build and operate technology like ChatGPT. SoftBank was also an investment partner. Crusoe is still completing six more buildings for OpenAI and Oracle due to be completed by the end of this year. OpenAI said earlier this month that it dropped plans to expand its Abilene project even further. "Our flagship Stargate site is one of the largest AI data center campuses in the United States," said Sachin Katti, OpenAI's head of compute infrastructure, in a post on X. "We considered expanding it further, but ultimately chose to put that additional capacity in other locations." Katti said OpenAI has more than half a dozen sites under development across the United States, including one it is building with Oracle in Wisconsin. Microsoft's additional two Abilene facilities announced Friday will bring the total number to 10 data center buildings, expected to supply a stunning 2.1 gigawatts of computing capacity from what was once a vast tract of mesquite shrub lands, home to coyote and roadrunners. Originally planned as a facility to mine cryptocurrency, developers pivoted and expanded their designs after ChatGPT sparked an AI boom. Crusoe co-founder and CEO Chase Lochmiller said in a written statement that a new power plant attached to the Microsoft project will be able to generate 900 megawatts to "continue building the industrial foundation for American AI -- at a velocity the industry has never seen." That will be larger than the existing 350-megawatt, gas-fired power plant attached to the OpenAI and Oracle project. Oracle has previously described that on-site plant as a backup source of power, since the data centers primarily draw from the region's electricity grid, which includes power supplied by nearby wind farms. The AI race has been complicating tech companies' commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, most of which come from the burning of gas, oil and coal and drive climate change. "We're burning gas to run this data center," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said while visiting Abilene last year, adding that "in the long trajectory of Stargate" the hope is to rely on many other power sources.

Microsoft to rent Texas data center dropped by Oracle and OpenAI: Report

Microsoft has agreed to rent a data center project in Texas that was originally being developed for Oracle and OpenAI, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the ⁠situation. Microsoft has agreed to rent a data center project in Texas that was originally being developed for Oracle and OpenAI, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the ⁠situation. The ⁠Abilene site, which accounts for roughly 700 megawatts of capacity, sits next to Oracle and OpenAI's flagship Stargate campus, the report said. Microsoft struck an agreement with developer Crusoe after both Oracle and OpenAI ⁠walked away from talks to occupy the site, according to the report. Oracle, ⁠Microsoft, OpenAI and Crusoe did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that Oracle and OpenAI had abandoned plans to expand an AI data center in Texas after negotiations dragged over financing and OpenAI's changing needs. Oracle later said the claims that planned capacity at ⁠the Abilene site is delayed were inaccurate. Technology companies have been pouring billions of dollars into data centers to power generative AI services such as ChatGPT and Copilot, which require huge amounts of computing power.

Microsoft to rent Texas data center dropped by Oracle and OpenAI, Bloomberg News reports

March 24 (Reuters) - Microsoft has agreed to rent a data center project in Texas that was originally being developed for Oracle and OpenAI, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the situation. The Abilene site, which accounts for roughly 700 megawatts of capacity, sits next to Oracle and OpenAI's flagship Stargate campus, the report said. Microsoft struck an agreement with developer Crusoe after both Oracle and OpenAI walked away from talks to occupy the site, according to the report. Oracle, Microsoft, OpenAI and Crusoe did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Earlier this month, Bloomberg News reported that Oracle and OpenAI had abandoned plans to expand an AI data center in Texas after negotiations dragged over financing and OpenAI's changing needs. Oracle later said the claims that planned capacity at the Abilene site is delayed were inaccurate. Technology companies have been pouring billions of dollars into data centers to power generative AI services such as ChatGPT and Copilot, which require huge amounts of computing power. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)