OpenAI has officially unveiled the blueprint for its “Compute Hub,” a project worth $1 trillion, aiming to build the world’s largest AI supercomputing network in the United States and overseas, marking a new phase in the AI industry’s transition from model innovation to an “arms race” in infrastructure.
The core project disclosed is the Super Data Center Complex in Abilene, Texas, spanning 1,100 acres (about the size of Central Park in New York), with 8 data centers already built, totaling 900 megawatts in capacity. The racks inside are loaded with tens of thousands of NVIDIA GB200 chips, each worth as much as a Tesla Model 3 base model. The construction site has 6,000 workers working in two shifts, day and night, and the area that was flat a year ago now stands modern facilities equipped with backup gas turbines. The first building, “Building 1,” is larger than two Walmart Super Centers.
The plan is strongly supported by the industry: the day before its announcement, OpenAI just reached a $100 billion collaboration with NVIDIA, securing the supply of high-performance chips. At the same time, it partnered with Oracle and SoftBank to build 5 new data centers in the U.S., with Oracle responsible for 3 projects that will provide 5.5 gigawatts of power, and SoftBank’s 2 projects adding 1.5 gigawatts of capacity, which can be operational within 18 months.
According to OpenAI’s calculations, to meet the explosive demand of products like ChatGPT (with over 700 million monthly active users), the final computing power reserve needs to be 13 times that of the Abilene center, with power support reaching 20 gigawatts, potentially close to 100 gigawatts in the long term, corresponding to an investment scale as high as $5 trillion. CEO Sam Altman admits that the computing power financing model is still being explored, but breakthroughs in infrastructure will unlock immense social value.
It is worth noting that this layout continues the concept of the “Project Star Gate” collaboration with the U.S. government in January of this year. After the completion of the Abilin Center, it is expected to provide 1,700 long-term jobs, helping to upgrade the regional industry. The Wall Street Journal commented that OpenAI is building industry competitive advantages through computing power barriers, reshaping the global AI infrastructure landscape.
