OpenAI's $470 Million Texas 'Freebird' Data Center Project Advances Amid Strategic Shifts
April 22, 2026
As the artificial intelligence industry's demand for computational power reaches unprecedented levels, the construction of dedicated, large-scale AI data centers has become a critical strategic battleground. These facilities are essential for training and deploying the next generation of AI models, making every new project a significant indicator of a company's capacity and ambition.
A recent filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has provided new details on OpenAI's ambitious 'Freebird' data center, part of its broader Stargate initiative. The first phase of the project, located in Milam County, Texas, will involve the construction of a single-story facility spanning 548,950 square feet (51,000 square meters), designed to house four data halls. The estimated cost for this initial phase is approximately $470 million, with a targeted completion date of October 15. The project is being built and will be operated by SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary, with Zoheir Taheri listed as the project head. OpenAI is also a noted investor in SB Energy.
The filing lists Kaylen Bushell as the tenant contact for OpenAI. Bushell is among several hires from construction advisor Avicado Construction, which is working on the Stargate project. Corgan Architects is named as the design firm. The disclosure comes during a period of notable transition for OpenAI's infrastructure efforts. In early March, OpenAI and Oracle canceled plans to expand their flagship Abilene Stargate campus, citing financing and scheduling challenges—claims that OpenAI executives disputed. Around the same time, Stargate leader Peter Hoeschele announced the structural completion of Freebird's first phase, stating, "Industrializing compute = compressing the cycle time from power to intelligence and making it repeatable (not a one-time hero run!). We gotta earn that by clearing a thousand small constraints with a tight field team. It's been amazing to watch the progress and talent at this site."
However, by April, Hoeschele had departed the company, alongside other key Stargate figures including Shamez Hemani, Anuj Saharan, and Keith Heyde. Concurrently, OpenAI has reportedly canceled planned Stargate projects in the UK and Norway as it prepares for a potential initial public offering. The company is now steering its compute strategy under Sachin Katti, hired in December, who outlined the scale of the ambition in March: "At OpenAI, we’re scaling compute to tens of gigawatts—rethinking and building resilient compute supply chains, AI data center, chip, rack, cluster & WAN design, scaling inference efficiency, and global delivery and operations of multi-GW scale AI infrastructure."
Source: datacenterdynamics
