Introduction

Oracle Corp. and OpenAI have abandoned plans to expand a flagship artificial intelligence data center in Abilene, Texas, according to a Bloomberg News report published on March 6, 2026. Sources familiar with the matter said negotiations to scale the facility, known as the Stargate project, stalled over financing issues and OpenAI's changing demand forecasts.

The report triggered an immediate market reaction, erasing Oracle's intraday gains and sending shares of AI-related companies lower. The broader retreat highlights investor sensitivity to any sign of slowdown in the capital-intensive race to build AI infrastructure.

Data Center Expansion Canceled, Market Reacts

The canceled plan involved expanding the Stargate data center from about 1.2 gigawatts to 2.0 gigawatts [1]. Talks between the two companies ended after they could not agree on financing, and as OpenAI revised its forecasts for future computing needs, according to the sources [2]. The collapse of the expansion deal was announced just one day after reports that Oracle is preparing for significant layoffs as it spends aggressively on AI data center buildouts.