Microsoft has agreed to lease a data center project in Texas that was originally developed and built for Oracle and OpenAI, according to people familiar with the matter. The data center in Abilene has a total capacity of approximately 700 megawatts and is adjacent to Oracle and OpenAI’s flagship Stargate campus. Microsoft reached the deal with developer Crusoe after Oracle and OpenAI abandoned talks to move to the campus, people familiar with the matter said. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing non-public information.
The world's largest software maker is increasing its data center leasing efforts to meet the needs of cloud computing customers and the computing power needs of its internal artificial intelligence business. During the last quarter, Microsoft signed approximately $50 billion in lease commitments for server parks under construction. This series of intensive actions is a sharp reversal from the same period last year - when Microsoft suspended multiple data center projects.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that negotiations between Oracle and OpenAI to move into the Abilene campus facilities reached an impasse due to financing issues and OpenAI’s frequently changing needs, and the negotiations eventually broke down. OpenAI said at the time that it had chosen to use other data centers.
Yuan Platform has also been in talks to lease the park, while technology information platform The Information earlier reported that Microsoft was also in talks to lease the park.
Microsoft, Crusoe and Meta Platform declined to comment.
The Abilene campus is one of the most high-profile projects in the era of artificial intelligence. Now this larger campus will have two major competitors, Microsoft and Oracle. Oracle has quickly deployed servers in local campuses for OpenAI to use for product training and online operation.
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