[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] OpenAI, the company that spearheaded the AI revolution with ChatGPT, is facing what some describe as a “dancing bear” moment — a risk of losing control of its own trajectory.
Tensions with key investor Microsoft, the collapse of its planned acquisition of Windsurf, and an exodus of top researchers have converged, forcing OpenAI to dramatically scale back its ambitious $500 billion “Stargate Project.”
According to industry sources and foreign media reports on July 27, the Stargate Project — originally a $500 billion megaproject to build AI infrastructure over the next four years — has hit turbulence due to friction between OpenAI and SoftBank.
At its announcement earlier this year, the initiative promised massive investment, with SoftBank, Oracle, and UAE sovereign wealth fund MGX among early backers. OpenAI even stated that $100 billion would be deployed immediately.
But only six months later, the project’s scope has been sharply reduced to the construction of a small-scale data center in Ohio, far from the original vision.
Disputes between OpenAI and SoftBank reportedly centered on the location and scale of the data centers and whether SB Energy’s land holdings would be utilized. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son’s ownership of the “Stargate” trademark further fueled tensions when OpenAI independently branded its Texas data centers in Abilene and Denton under the “Stargate Project” name.
Some analysts also suggest that U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Japanese products — initially 24–25%, settled at 15% on July 23 — may have dampened SoftBank’s enthusiasm for heavy investment.
As speculation swirled that the Stargate Project was “dead in the water,” OpenAI announced a new agreement to lease an additional 4.5 GW of data center capacity from Oracle, but the market reaction remained skeptical.
Meanwhile, OpenAI’s relationship with Microsoft — its largest partner and investor — has further deteriorated, beginning with disagreements over OpenAI’s planned conversion to a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC).
OpenAI’s $3 billion bid to acquire AI coding company Windsurf collapsed after Microsoft demanded intellectual property rights. Following the failed deal, Windsurf CEO Varun Mohan and key researchers departed for Google DeepMind.
The PBC transition requires Microsoft’s approval, but talks have been deadlocked for eight months over equity share disputes and clauses that would limit Microsoft’s access to OpenAI’s technology if Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is achieved.
AlphaBIZ Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
