source: techcrunch ai: openai’s ai spending spree has ballooned to $750b
level: business
openai will spend $750 billion on infrastructure through 2030, a 25% increase from earlier estimates. the first project is a $20 billion data center campus in georgia called project camellia. it will cover 1,400 acres and use at least 3.2 gigawatts of power from georgia power, expected between 2028 and 2032. openai will pay all infrastructure and electric service costs, and the georgia public service commission has rules preventing utilities from passing costs to other customers.
georgia power plans to add 9,885 megawatts of capacity, with the openai deal taking about a third. most new capacity will come from natural gas, including simple-cycle turbines, more than doubling the utility's gas fleet. the rest will come from batteries and solar. openai will also reduce its power draw by up to 1 gigawatt during high grid demand. the company received a 50% property tax abatement for 15 years from effingham county.
the stargate data center project appears stalled, but openai hired brett mayo from xai to lead construction. mayo oversaw the colossus data center in memphis, built quickly but facing a lawsuit over air quality from unpermitted gas turbines. openai has not said when the first gpu will be online, but power is expected in 2028. the spending surge shows the massive energy and capital demands of scaling ai.
why it matters: the scale of spending and energy use highlights the growing infrastructure demands for ai, with implications for energy grids and environmental policy.
source: techcrunch ai: openai’s ai spending spree has ballooned to $750b