Stargate Progress Amid Skepticism
OpenAI’s ambitious Stargate project sparked skepticism upon its announcement in January, particularly regarding its $500 billion funding claims. Critics like Elon Musk and tech writer Ed Zitron expressed doubts about OpenAI’s financial viability, highlighting significant annual losses. However, six months later, the project’s development gained traction, transitioning from construction to partial operation at OpenAI’s Abilene data center. Oracle’s delivery of Nvidia GB200 racks marked a pivotal phase as early training and inference workloads commenced, supporting “next-generation frontier research.” Originally conceived as a $100 billion supercomputer with Microsoft in March 2024, Stargate has since evolved into a collaborative effort involving Oracle, SoftBank, and CoreWeave. In a recent press release, OpenAI emphasized Stargate’s role in harnessing AI for economic growth and national competitiveness, bolstered by international partnerships and government backing, including support from the White House. As Stargate progresses, its potential impact on AI infrastructure remains significant.
