Oracle raised its capital expenditure forecast by $15 billion to more than $75 billion as the company accelerates construction of artificial intelligence data centers across the United States, including multiple facilities in Texas as part of the $500 billion Stargate project.
Increased Capital Investment
Oracle announced in December 2025 that it would increase capital spending significantly to support data center construction, according to Ars Technica. The company is doubling down on its AI infrastructure bet despite investor concerns about the timing mismatch between capital expenses and revenue generation.
Oracle shares declined following the announcement as the market processed the implications of the substantial upfront investment required to build hyperscale AI facilities.
Stargate Project Expansion
Oracle and OpenAI entered an agreement in July 2025 to develop up to 4.5 gigawatts of additional Stargate capacity, according to OpenAI’s announcement. The partnership represents an investment exceeding $300 billion over five years.
In September 2025, the companies announced five new U.S. data center sites that bring Stargate to nearly 7 gigawatts of planned capacity and over $400 billion in investment over three years. The expansion puts the project ahead of schedule to secure the full $500 billion, 10-gigawatt commitment by the end of 2025.
Texas Facilities
Oracle is developing multiple data center campuses in Texas as part of the Stargate initiative:
Abilene Campus
The flagship Abilene facility became operational in September 2025, according to OpenAI. The campus spans 1,000 acres and features eight interconnected buildings with a total capacity potential exceeding one gigawatt.
The site is designed to eventually house more than 450,000 Nvidia GPUs and will become the world’s largest AI cluster when fully built. Oracle began delivering computing capacity to OpenAI in June 2025 using the first Nvidia GB200 racks.
Oracle will spend approximately $40 billion on Nvidia chips for the Abilene campus alone, according to the Financial Times. The company will purchase around 400,000 GB200 chips to lease to OpenAI.
Construction transformed the site from empty land in June 2024 to operational status in less than one year. More than 3,500 professionals work onsite daily to deliver new capacity.
Shackelford County
Oracle announced plans in September 2025 for a second Texas data center campus in Shackelford County, according to an Oracle fact sheet. The facility is part of Oracle’s commitment to develop over 5.5 gigawatts of capacity across multiple sites.
The Shackelford County campus is planned to operate off the grid using dedicated power infrastructure, according to reports from Construction Owners.
Potential Abilene Expansion
Oracle and OpenAI announced a potential additional expansion of 600 megawatts near the flagship Stargate site in Abilene, bringing total planned capacity in the Abilene area to approximately 1.6 gigawatts.
Economic Impact
The three Texas sites combined are expected to create over 25,000 onsite jobs and tens of thousands of additional indirect jobs across the United States, according to the Oracle announcement. The campuses collectively encompass more than 4,800 acres.
Oracle has committed to recruiting and developing talent from local communities, offering internships, paid positions, and on-the-job training programs. Local community investments will improve schools, roads, water, sewer, power, and public services.
Additional U.S. Sites
Beyond Texas, Oracle announced data center sites in:
- Doña Ana County, New Mexico
- Wisconsin, developed in partnership with Vantage Data Centers
- Additional capacity near existing facilities
SoftBank is separately developing 1.5 gigawatts of Stargate capacity in Lordstown, Ohio, and Milam County, Texas, with the Ohio facility expected to become operational in 2026.
Construction Challenges
Oracle reportedly faces delays on several new OpenAI data centers due to shortages of materials and labor, according to Tom’s Hardware. Some facilities may be delayed by a year or more as tight supply chains frustrate expansion plans.
Reports indicate that buildout of certain data centers has been pushed to 2028 amid supply constraints, according to Proactive Investors.
Power Infrastructure
The Abilene campus is powered by a blend of grid electricity and onsite natural gas turbines. The facility utilizes state-of-the-art technology including liquid cooling and dedicated AI accelerators to maximize efficiency and performance.
Oracle has committed to grid-friendly and responsible energy practices across its data center portfolio, according to company statements.
Strategic Context
The data center expansion reflects surging demand for AI computing infrastructure as companies race to train and deploy large language models. OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar stated that the industry faces a “massive compute crunch” with insufficient computing capacity to meet AI application demand.
OpenAI will pay for computing capacity as an operating expense, funding construction through its projected $13 billion in 2025 revenue, cash flow, and debt financing.
