SoftBank plans to invest up to $3 billion to overhaul an EV factory in Lordstown, Ohio, transforming it into a manufacturing hub for equipment used in OpenAI’s next-generation data centers, The Information reported.
The upgraded plant will supply data centers in Milam County, Texas, and other locations, aligning with SoftBank’s aggressive pivot into AI after selling its $5.8B Nvidia stake to fund CEO Masayoshi Son’s AI strategy centered around OpenAI.
SoftBank bought the Lordstown site in August for $375 million.
Part of the $500B “Stargate” AI infrastructure plan
OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank announced plans in September for five U.S. AI data centers as part of the $500 billion Stargate project — a nationwide advanced compute network.
The investment also ties into a joint venture unveiled at the White House in January, where SoftBank pledged $18 billion for U.S.-based AI initiatives.
Why the Ohio plant matters
The facility will build modular data centers — portable, pre-assembled units enabling rapid deployment and scalable capacity. A small working data center will be built onsite as a demonstration model.
Manufacturing is expected to begin early next year.
OpenAI’s massive compute ambitions
On a livestream in October, Sam Altman said OpenAI aims to build 30 gigawatts of compute capacity at an estimated cost of $1.4 trillion—eventually scaling to 1 GW per week, despite current costs exceeding $40B per gigawatt.
Unlike Meta or Google, OpenAI lacks an advertising or cloud business to offset infrastructure costs, increasing reliance on partners like SoftBank.
SoftBank and OpenAI did not comment.