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OpenAI's AI spending spree has ballooned to $750B
TechCrunch • • business
Key Points:
- OpenAI plans to invest $750 billion in infrastructure through 2030, a 25% increase from earlier estimates, with a major focus on the Stargate data center project, which has recently stalled.
- The initial phase includes a $20 billion data center campus called Project Camellia in Georgia, spanning 1,400 acres and expected to draw at least 3.2 gigawatts of power from Georgia Power between 2028 and 2032.
- OpenAI will cover the full cost of infrastructure and electric service for the new data center and has agreed to reduce power usage by up to 1 gigawatt during peak grid demand periods.
- Georgia Power plans to meet the new power demand mostly through natural gas generation, including more polluting simple-cycle turbines, alongside grid-scale batteries and solar energy, significantly expanding its fossil fuel capacity.
- While electricity delivery is expected to begin in 2028, OpenAI has not specified when the data center will become operational, but recent hires suggest construction and activation could proceed sooner.
