OpenAI and SoftBank Group partner with SB Energy

SoftBank Group and OpenAI invest $1 billion in SB Energy to support its growth as a leading development and execution partner for data center campusesOpenAI signs 1.2 GW data center lease for initial data center buildoutSB Energy will become a major customer of OpenAI, leveraging its APIs and deploying ChatGPT for its employees**SB Energy additionally secured $800 million of Redeemable Preferred Equity from Ares to further support the company’s growth

Redwood City, CA, Jan. 9, 2026—SB Energy(opens in a new window), a SoftBank Group company, announced today a strategic partnership with OpenAI as part of Stargate(opens in a new window), marking a significant step forward in the build out of next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) and energy infrastructure in the United States. The investment builds on the $500 billion Stargate commitment announced in January at the White House.

To support the partnership and as demand for AI compute accelerates, OpenAI and SoftBank Group are each investing $500 million into SB Energy. OpenAI has also selected SBE to build and operate its previously-announced 1.2 GW data center site in Milam County. The equity funding supports SB Energy’s growth as a leading development and execution partner for data center campuses and associated energy infrastructure. SB Energy is currently developing several multi-gigawatt data center campuses, with initial facilities under construction and expected to enter service starting in 2026.

OpenAI co-founder and President Greg Brockman said, “Partnering with SB Energy brings together their strength in data center infrastructure and energy development and OpenAI’s deep domain expertise in data center engineering. The result is a fast, reliable way to scale compute through large, highly optimized AI data centers.”

SB Energy co-CEO Rich Hossfeld said, “SB Energy’s strategic partnership with OpenAI accelerates our delivery of advanced AI data center campuses and associated energy infrastructure at the scale required to advance Stargate and secure America’s AI future. We are grateful for our longstanding sponsor SoftBank Group and new partner OpenAI for their investment in our platform, our team, and our long-term vision.”

As part of this transaction, OpenAI, SoftBank Group, and SB Energy have also formed a non-exclusive preferred partnership to develop a new model for data center builds that brings together OpenAI’s first-party data center design with SB Energy’s proven expertise in speed, cost discipline, and integrated energy delivery to deliver purpose-built AI infrastructure at scale. With each project, SB Energy and OpenAI will invest in communities through well-paying jobs, workforce development, and grid modernization to deliver durable economic growth for partner communities.

The Milam County Data Center will create thousands of construction jobs. OpenAI and SB Energy have designed the data center to minimize water usage, and plan to build new generation to support the Milam County Data Center’s energy needs and protect Texas ratepayers.