Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) rejected recent media claims suggesting problems at its major AI data center in Abilene, Texas, saying the project remains on schedule and that it has secured the full 4.5 gigawatts of capacity pledged to OpenAI. Despite the clarification, Oracle shares were down 1.2% at $152.96 in pre-market trading, reflecting broader weakness across equity markets.
A Bloomberg report published March 6 stated that Oracle and OpenAI had scrapped plans to expand the Abilene facility, citing lengthy financing discussions and shifting requirements from OpenAI. The report also suggested that Meta Platforms was exploring the possibility of leasing the proposed expansion site from developer Crusoe, with Nvidia helping facilitate talks and reportedly placing a $150 million deposit.
“Crusoe and Oracle are operating in lockstep to deliver one of the world’s largest AI Data centers in Abilene at record-breaking pace,” Oracle said in a statement. “Two buildings are completely operational and the rest of the campus is on track.”
A spokesperson for Crusoe echoed the message, saying: “Together, Crusoe and Oracle are operating in lockstep to deliver one of the world’s largest AI factories in Abilene. Our collaboration can deliver massive-scale infrastructure faster than anyone else in the industry.”
Oracle also addressed speculation surrounding its commitments to OpenAI, stating the company “has completed leasing for the additional 4.5GW to deliver on our commitments to OpenAI,” although it did not clarify where all of that capacity would be located beyond the Abilene campus. The company did not directly comment on earlier reports that some buildings temporarily went offline this year after winter weather disrupted liquid cooling equipment.
The Abilene project was unveiled last year at the White House alongside President Donald Trump as part of the $500 billion Stargate AI initiative involving Oracle, OpenAI and SoftBank. Earlier plans envisioned expanding the site’s capacity from roughly 1.2 gigawatts to around 2.0 gigawatts.
Market Context
Oracle’s cloud infrastructure division has been a major driver of growth, with total cloud revenue jumping 33% to $8 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2026. Cloud services now account for roughly half of the company’s total revenue.
The company has also secured an additional $68 billion in remaining performance obligations tied to its cloud infrastructure operations, highlighting strong demand fueled by artificial intelligence workloads.
What to Watch
Oracle is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on March 10. Data from Polymarket currently suggests a 77.5% probability that the company will exceed analyst expectations.
The announcement also comes amid intensifying competition in the AI infrastructure sector. On Monday, UK-based AI company Nscale—backed by Nvidia—raised $2 billion at a $14.6 billion valuation to expand its data center network for clients including Microsoft and OpenAI.