Catenaa, Saturday, March 07, 2026- Oracle and OpenAI have dropped plans to expand a flagship AI data center in Texas after negotiations dragged on over financing and OpenAI’s changing needs.

The collapse of talks created an opening for Meta Platforms to consider leasing the planned expansion site in Abilene, Texas, from developer Crusoe. Bloomberg News reported.

Nvidia, the leading AI chipmaker, helped facilitate Meta’s discussions with the developer, the report said.

The shifting plans underscore the complexity of building out AI data centers, which are expected to cost in the tens of billions of dollars and require cooperation from a wide swath of partners.

The campus Crusoe is developing in Abilene is part of the highly publicized Stargate project, which was announced last year at the White House by President Donald Trump.

While the 1,000-acre site continues to be built, and several parts are up and running, Oracle and OpenAI elected not to go forward with tentative plans to lease a large expansion, the report said.

Oracle and OpenAI are using Nvidia’s AI semiconductors at the Stargate site.

With Crusoe seeking a tenant, Nvidia became involved to ensure its products would still fill the expanded data center rather than that of rival Advanced Micro Devices. Bloomberg News reported.

Nvidia paid a $150 million deposit to Crusoe and began helping court Meta as a tenant for the expansion, the report said.

Oracle agreed last July to develop 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity for OpenAI.

That deal remains on track, and the companies have announced a number of projects in other locations, such as one near Detroit owned by Related Digital.

Shares of Oracle gave up earlier gains and slipped 1.2% to $152.96 at the close on Friday in New York.