Abilene is quietly transforming from a quiet West Texas town into a potential global epicenter for artificial intelligence, thanks to the ambitious Stargate Project and President Donald Trump’s backing.
Stargate, a $500 billion plan led by tech heavyweights like OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, hopes to redefine the future of AI while reshaping Texas’ economic landscape.
Following a White House meeting earlier this year, word surfaced that construction had already begun in remote parts of West Texas. Now, Trump has announced the monumental project alongside some of the most influential names in the AI industry.
“This will be the most important project of this era,” said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, during a 2025 White House visit.
The main goal of the massive endeavor is allegedly to boost America’s leadership in AI technology, and Abilene is already anticipating the benefits of being chosen as the headquarters for Stargate. This undertaking could bring tremendous economic opportunities—and huge pressure.
The Stargate Project’s data center is already under construction on a nearly 900-acre site near the city. Once completed, the facility is expected to house almost 4 million square feet of “data center space” powered by around 1.2 gigawatts of electricity, per BusinessInsider, making it one of the largest AI-focused data centers in the world, if not the largest to date.
To support the huge computing demands, Oracle plans to invest around $40 billion in acquiring 400,000 of Nvidia’s latest GB200 chips – some of the most advanced technology in the modern computing era. These chips will likely be installed/used at the Abilene facility to provide the necessary power for “advanced AI applications,” applications that could change our perception of technology as we know it.
Local leaders of the small Texas city have already been vocally optimistic about all the economic benefits the Stargate Project will bring to West Texas.
Stargate is expected to create numerous job opportunities and stimulate the local economy. Local media outlets, such as BigCountryHomepage, have already posted several high-paying job opportunities.
According to the Development Corporation of Abilene, the City Council approved a tax abatement agreement that could grant Crusoe, the data center’s developer, an 85% property tax break based on a minimum $2.4 billion investment in the area.
$2.4 billion could do a lot for Abilene, a city with a listed population of around 130,000 by the 2024 census.
To meet the other huge energy requirements the Stargate hub needs, plans are underway to construct an on-site natural gas plant capable of producing up to 360.5 megawatts of power, per BusinessInsider. The new facilities could provide both primary and backup power exclusively for the data center’s needs, hopefully locking in a reliable energy supply for one of the biggest demands in Texas’ history.
“AI holds incredible promise for all of us,” said Oracle founder Larry Ellison in January after a speech from Trump on Stargate.
“We’ve been working with OpenAI for awhile. The data centers are actually under construction, the first of them are under construction in Texas. Each building is half a million square feet. There are 10 buildings currently being built, but that will expand to 20 and other locations beyond the Abilene location, which is our first location,” Ellison added, per The Abilene Reporter News.
There is no word yet on how Stargate will affect the state’s energy grid, which has had Texans begging for more stability and consistency after recent storms, as The Dallas Express has consistently covered in the past.