SoftBank concedes Stargate Project with OpenAI needs more time

SoftBank Group Corp. said it’s taking longer than anticipated to get Stargate off the ground, conceding for the first time that the $500 billion artificial intelligence tie-up in the US with OpenAI is bogging down.

The Japanese company is trying to forge a consensus with partners including Oracle Corp. and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said during an earnings briefing. SoftBank expects to begin “concrete” negotiations for its first Stargate datacenter site soon, Goto said.

“We need to take our time to prepare a model case for Stargate,” he told analysts and reporters. “A lot of parties are involved. Time is needed to form a consensus.”


SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman unveiled Stargate in January with promises to begin deploying $100 billion “immediately” and raise that to around $500 billion. Months later, it’s yet to begin raising funds or building data centers.

Some of the conversations behind Stargate have slowed due to market volatility, uncertainty about US trade policy and questions around the financial valuations of AI hardware, Bloomberg News reported in May. The company is now also courting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and others about taking part in a $1 trillion AI manufacturing hub in Arizona.

Also Read: SoftBank Group swings to profit in first quarter on market enthusiasm for tech stocks