Oracle and OpenAI End Plans to Expand Flagship Data Center

Mar 6, 2026

Guest

James Crombie

Guest

Ellen Wald

Guest

Ed Ludlow

James Crombie, credit markets analyst who tracks private lending risks. Ellen Wald, energy and geopolitics expert focused on oil and shipping. Ed Ludlow, tech reporter explaining oracle/OpenAI data-center developments. They discuss the collapse of an Abilene AI campus deal, Nvidia's $150M play to protect GPU share, and how data-center build, grid and market forces reshape AI infrastructure plans.

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ADVICE

Treat Data Center Deals As Multi-Party Negotiations

Remember data-center builds are capital and coordination intensive; expect financing and tenant needs to shift during negotiations.
Factor in multi-party dependencies (developers, tenants, chip suppliers) when evaluating deals.

INSIGHT

Stargate Expansion Collapsed And Nvidia Stepped In

Oracle and OpenAI dropped plans to expand Abilene's Stargate data center from 1.2GW to 2GW amid financing and changing needs.
Nvidia then paid Crusoe $150M and introduced Meta as a potential tenant to protect GPU share.

INSIGHT

Nvidia Used Cash To Protect Its GPU Demand

Nvidia's $150 million deposit to Crusoe aimed to ensure Nvidia GPUs, not AMD's, would power any new tenant's racks.
Nvidia actively brokered Meta into talks to keep its semiconductors filling the planned expansion.

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Oracle Corp. and OpenAI have scrapped plans to expand a flagship artificial intelligence data center in Texas after negotiations dragged over financing and OpenAI’s changing needs.

The collapsed talks created an opening for Meta Platforms Inc. to step in and consider leasing the planned expansion site in Abilene, Texas, from developer Crusoe, according to people familiar with the matter. Nvidia Corp., the leading AI chipmaker, helped facilitate Meta’s discussions with the developer, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private.

The shifting plans underscore the complexity of building out AI data centers, which are expected to cost in the tens of billions of dollars and require cooperation from a wide swath of partners.

The campus being developed by Crusoe in Abilene is part of the highly publicized Stargate project, which was announced last year at the White House with President Donald Trump. While the 1,000-acre site continues to be built, and several parts are up and running, Oracle and OpenAI elected not to go forward with tentative plans to lease a large expansion, the people said.

Oracle and OpenAI are using Nvidia’s AI semiconductors at the Stargate site. With Crusoe seeking a tenant, Nvidia became involved to ensure its products would still fill the expanded data center rather than that of rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc., said the people. Nvidia paid a $150 million deposit to Crusoe and began helping court Meta as a tenant for the expansion, the people said.
Today's show features:

Ed Ludlow, Bloomberg Tech co-host on Oracle and OpenAI End Plans to Expand Flagship Data Center
Ellen Wald, President of Transversal Consulting and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, on oil markets
James Crombie, Bloomberg News Senior Editor on Credit, on how broad credit markers are reacting to war and inflation
Drive to the Close with Sevasti Balafas, CEO at GoalVest Advisory

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