SoftBank Group Corp. has acknowledged that its $500 billion Stargate artificial intelligence project with OpenAI in the United States is progressing slower than expected. For the first time, the company admitted the initiative is “bogging down” as it works to build agreement among all partners involved.
Chief Financial Officer Yoshimitsu Goto said SoftBank is in the process of aligning with partners including Oracle and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and expects to start “concrete” negotiations soon for the location of its first Stargate data centre. “We need to take our time to prepare a model case for Stargate. A lot of parties are involved. Time is needed to form a consensus,” Goto explained.
The Stargate project was unveiled in January by SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, with an initial $100 billion deployment plan to be scaled up to $500 billion. However, progress has slowed, with no fundraising or construction started so far.
According to earlier reports, market fluctuations, uncertainty over US trade policy, and concerns about the valuation of AI hardware have contributed to the delays. SoftBank is also in talks with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and other firms regarding a potential $1 trillion AI manufacturing project in Arizona.
Last month, OpenAI expanded the Stargate initiative to Europe, announcing a $1 billion facility in Norway set to open in 2026. This followed a May announcement of a Stargate data centre in the UAE.
The delays come amid public scepticism from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who in January questioned OpenAI’s ability to fund such a large-scale infrastructure plan, stating the company “do not actually have the money” and claiming “SoftBank has well under $10B secured.” In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, “I genuinely respect your accomplishments and think you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time.”
Despite these challenges, SoftBank and OpenAI continue to push forward with their plans, aiming to build a global network of AI infrastructure through Stargate.
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