Microsoft and OpenAI are reportedly planning a massive data-centre project that could cost up to $100 billion, including the development of an artificial intelligence supercomputer called “Stargate,” according to a report by The Information.
The project is said to be financed by Microsoft. The proposed efforts, as per the source who has seen the initial cost estimates, could exceed $115 billion, more than triple Microsoft’s capital expenditures on servers, buildings, and equipment last year.
The alleged supercomputer would be the largest in a series of installations the companies plan to build over the next six years.Microsoft is expected to finance the project, which would be 100 times more expensive than some of the biggest current data centres, as reported by The Information, citing individuals involved in private discussions about the proposal.
OpenAI’s next major AI upgrade is anticipated to arrive by early next year, with Microsoft executives aiming to launch Stargate as early as 2028. The Information attributed the tentative $100 billion cost to an individual who spoke with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and another who viewed some of Microsoft’s initial cost estimates.
“We are always planning for the next generation of infrastructure innovations needed to continue pushing the frontier of AI capability,” Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesperson, told The Information in a statement.
Altman and Microsoft employees have reportedly divided the supercomputers into five phases, with Stargate being the fifth. Microsoft is currently working on a smaller, fourth-phase supercomputer for OpenAI, targeting a 2026 launch.
The two companies are presently in the middle of the third phase of the five-phase plan, with a significant portion of the cost for the next two phases involving the procurement of necessary AI chips, according to The Information.
The project is said to be financed by Microsoft. The proposed efforts, as per the source who has seen the initial cost estimates, could exceed $115 billion, more than triple Microsoft’s capital expenditures on servers, buildings, and equipment last year.
The alleged supercomputer would be the largest in a series of installations the companies plan to build over the next six years.Microsoft is expected to finance the project, which would be 100 times more expensive than some of the biggest current data centres, as reported by The Information, citing individuals involved in private discussions about the proposal.
OpenAI’s next major AI upgrade is anticipated to arrive by early next year, with Microsoft executives aiming to launch Stargate as early as 2028. The Information attributed the tentative $100 billion cost to an individual who spoke with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and another who viewed some of Microsoft’s initial cost estimates.
“We are always planning for the next generation of infrastructure innovations needed to continue pushing the frontier of AI capability,” Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesperson, told The Information in a statement.
Altman and Microsoft employees have reportedly divided the supercomputers into five phases, with Stargate being the fifth. Microsoft is currently working on a smaller, fourth-phase supercomputer for OpenAI, targeting a 2026 launch.
The two companies are presently in the middle of the third phase of the five-phase plan, with a significant portion of the cost for the next two phases involving the procurement of necessary AI chips, according to The Information.