Microsoft and OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, collaborate on $100 billion AI supercomputer project named ‘Stargate’

Microsoft and OpenAI are teaming up for an ambitious project that could revolutionize the world of artificial intelligence. According to a report by The Information, the two tech giants are planning to invest up to $100 billion in a massive data-centre project, with the development of an artificial intelligence supercomputer named “Stargate” at its core.

The project, which is said to be financed by Microsoft, is expected to exceed $115 billion in total costs, making it more than triple the company’s capital expenditures on servers, buildings, and equipment last year. The supercomputer, if built, would be the largest in a series of installations planned over the next six years.

OpenAI’s next major AI upgrade is anticipated to be released by early next year, with Microsoft aiming to launch Stargate as early as 2028. The reported $100 billion cost estimate was attributed to sources who spoke with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and viewed Microsoft’s initial cost estimates.

“We are always planning for the next generation of infrastructure innovations needed to continue pushing the frontier of AI capability,” said Frank Shaw, a Microsoft spokesperson, in a statement to The Information.

The project is divided into five phases, with Stargate being the fifth. Currently, Microsoft is working on a smaller, fourth-phase supercomputer for OpenAI, set to launch in 2026. The two companies are currently in the third phase of the plan, with a focus on procuring necessary AI chips for the next two phases. This collaboration between Microsoft and OpenAI could potentially reshape the future of artificial intelligence and technology as we know it.