Microsoft, ChatGPT Maker OpenAI Plan $100 Billion 'Stargate' AI Supercomputer: Report

Microsoft and ChatGPT maker OpenAI are reportedly planning to jointly build an artificial intelligence supercomputer, dubbed “Stargate,” that could cost up to $100 billion.

Microsoft would likely be responsible for financing the project, which would be around 100 times more costly than some of the biggest data centres, The Information reported on Friday (29 March).

The project is likely to be completed by 2028.

The report says that Stargate will be the biggest in a series of supercomputers that Microsoft and OpenAI plan to build over the next six years.

The supercomputer plan is currently in the middle of the third phase with Stargate being part of the fifth and final phase.

A significant part of the cost for the upcoming phases will come from acquiring AI chips, according to the report.

The surging demand for graphics processing units (GPUs), essential for powering AI models, has led to a significant market bottleneck.

This surge is largely fuelled by the generative AI boom, with Nvidia, a leading chip manufacturer, struggling to meet the escalating demand. The scarcity has also driven up the prices of these essential chips.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said earlier this month that the company's latest “Blackwell” B200 artificial intelligence chip will be priced between $30,000 and $40,000.

Microsoft had also announced a duo of custom-designed computing chips in November last year.

The report said the new project would be designed to work with chips from different suppliers.

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