Trending Now - Microsoft Expands AI Infrastructure With Crusoe's 2.1 GW Campus
WHO:
Sachin Katti, OpenAI’s head of compute infrastructure
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
Oracle Corp. and OpenAI reportedly withdrew from the data center project in Abilene, Texas.
Microsoft Corp.
Crusoe, the AI factory company
Jodey Arrington, Chairman of the House Budget Committee and U.S. Representative from the 19th Congressional District of Texas
Weldon Hurt, Mayor, City of Abilene
Noelle Walsh, President, Cloud Operations & Innovation at Microsoft
Chase Lochmiller, Co-founder and CEO of Crusoe
WHAT:
OpenAI has more than half a dozen sites under development across the United States, including one in Wisconsin with Oracle.
OpenAI's flagship Stargate site is described as one of the largest AI data center campuses in the United States.
The new power plant for the Microsoft project will generate 900 megawatts, larger than the existing 350-megawatt gas-fired power plant for OpenAI and Oracle.
The new campus will include two new buildings, each designed to deliver 336 MW of critical IT load.
The new campus will feature a closed-loop non-evaporative liquid cooling system.
The development is expected to create thousands of additional construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs in the Abilene region, further increasing the economic impact on the community.
Microsoft will lease Crusoe's 900 MW data center in Abilene, Texas.
The new campus will support large-scale AI workloads for Microsoft.
The total projected capacity across the full Abilene site will reach 2.1 gigawatts (GW).
The first building of the new campus is expected to be energized in mid-2027.
The new campus includes two new buildings and an onsite power plant.
The existing data center campus has already contributed thousands of direct jobs to Abilene.
The development is expected to create thousands of additional construction jobs and hundreds of permanent jobs in the Abilene region.
The first eight buildings of Crusoe’s existing data center campus are expected to deliver up to 32% of the City of Abilene’s and up to 25% of Taylor County’s current FY 2025 Budgeted Property Tax Revenue.
WHERE:
Abilene, Texas
WHEN:
OpenAI announced earlier in March 2026 that it dropped plans to expand its Abilene project further.
Land clearing and site preparation for the new campus are already underway as of March 27th, 2026.
The announcement was made on March 27th, 2026.
The first building of the new campus is expected by mid-2027.
The second phase of the existing campus is expected to reach completion by the end of 2026.
WHY:
OpenAI chose to put additional capacity in other locations instead of expanding the Abilene project.
The expansion aims to enhance operational reliability and grid resilience through dedicated energy infrastructure.
The expansion of the campus is a testament to the hardworking people and pioneering spirit of the Big Country.
The project aims to ensure America will lead the next frontier of information technology.
HOW:
The Microsoft project will continue building the industrial foundation for American AI at a velocity the industry has never seen, according to Chase Lochmiller.
The new campus will integrate a 900 MW on-site power generation system paired with an MV BESS system.
The new campus will feature behind-the-meter dedicated on-site energy infrastructure, including a 900 MW on-site power plant.
The campus will utilize ultra-high-density compute and water-efficient cooling systems.
(UPDATED March 28, 2026 05:22 UTC)
OpenAI has announced that it is developing more than half a dozen sites across the United States, including a significant project in Wisconsin in partnership with Oracle, while its flagship Stargate site is set to become one of the largest AI data center campuses in the country. Earlier in March, OpenAI decided to abandon plans for further expansion of its Abilene project, opting instead to focus on increasing capacity in other locations. According to Chase Lochmiller, the Microsoft project will continue to build the industrial foundation for American AI at an unprecedented pace.
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(UPDATED March 28, 2026 01:23 UTC)
Oracle Corp. and OpenAI have reportedly withdrawn from the data center project in Abilene, Texas, where land clearing and site preparation for a new campus are already underway as of March 27, 2026. This new development will include two buildings designed to deliver 336 megawatts of critical IT load and will feature a closed-loop non-evaporative liquid cooling system, creating thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions in the region. The expansion aims to enhance operational reliability and grid resilience through dedicated energy infrastructure, integrating a 900 megawatt on-site power generation system paired with an MV BESS system.
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(UPDATED March 27, 2026 23:09 UTC)
Microsoft has announced plans to lease Crusoe's 900 megawatt data center in Abilene, Texas, which will support large-scale AI workloads and is projected to reach a total capacity of 2.1 gigawatts across the site. The new campus, featuring two buildings and an onsite power plant, is expected to create thousands of construction jobs and hundreds of permanent positions in the region, with the first building anticipated to be energized by mid-2027. This expansion highlights the hardworking spirit of the Big Country and aims to position America at the forefront of the next frontier in information technology.