business

5/21/25

OpenAI’s gigantic Texas data center lands $11.6 billion in funding to expand to eight buildings

OpenAI’s massive data center, currently under construction in Abilene, Texas, just locked in $11.6 billion in new funding, bringing total commitments to $15 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The eight-building site, which is being built by infrastructure startup Crusoe for OpenAI, will house up to 50,000 Nvidia Blackwell chips per building, and is expected to become the largest data center used by the company when the site opens next year.

The Abilene project marks the first major step in “Stargate,” OpenAI’s $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative announced in January, backed by SoftBank and Oracle. It also signals the ChatGPT maker’s push to reduce its dependence on Microsoft, its longtime exclusive cloud provider.

The data center “will be the biggest AI training facility in the world,” CEO Sam Altman recently posted on X.

Exclusive | OpenAI’s Biggest Data Center Secures $11.6 Billion in Funding

Exclusive | OpenAI’s Biggest Data Center Secures $11.6 Billion in Funding

The Abilene project marks the first major step in “Stargate,” OpenAI’s $500 billion AI infrastructure initiative announced in January, backed by SoftBank and Oracle. It also signals the ChatGPT maker’s push to reduce its dependence on Microsoft, its longtime exclusive cloud provider.

The data center “will be the biggest AI training facility in the world,” CEO Sam Altman recently posted on X.

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Volkswagen is reportedly closing in on its own, separate tariff deal with the US

In a bid to get its own tariff rate below the 15% applied to most EU exports, Volkswagen is dangling big US investments.

Speaking at a trade show Monday, VW CEO Oliver Blume said the automaker is in advanced talks on a deal to limit its own tariff burden. Volkswagen reported a tariff cost of $1.5 billion in the first half of the year.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Blume said the company is in close contact with the Trump administration and has had “good talks” about its separate deal. The current 15% tariff rate on EU vehicles would still “be a burden for Volkswagen,” Blume said.

A company reaching a tariff deal separate from its home country isn’t typical, though there’s already precedent this year, with Apple’s $100 billion US investment deal amid chip tariffs and President Trump’s threats to add a levy to smartphones. Nvidia and AMD similarly struck a deal to receive the ability to sell chips in China and in exchange agreed to give the US 15% of the revenue from those sales.

15% Tariff Would Be ‘A Burden’ on Volkswagen, CEO Says

15% Tariff Would Be ‘A Burden’ on Volkswagen, CEO Says

Speaking to Bloomberg TV, Blume said the company is in close contact with the Trump administration and has had “good talks” about its separate deal. The current 15% tariff rate on EU vehicles would still “be a burden for Volkswagen,” Blume said.

A company reaching a tariff deal separate from its home country isn’t typical, though there’s already precedent this year, with Apple’s $100 billion US investment deal amid chip tariffs and President Trump’s threats to add a levy to smartphones. Nvidia and AMD similarly struck a deal to receive the ability to sell chips in China and in exchange agreed to give the US 15% of the revenue from those sales.

Lululemon sales are being squeezed — but it’s hoping sports sponsorships will save its skin

The athleisure brand is now looking to real-life athletes to rescue its flagging US sales from the end of de minimis.

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