Delays? What delays? Oracle insists its $300B cloud contract with OpenAI is on track

Delays? What delays? Oracle insists its $300B cloud contract with OpenAI is on track

Summary

Oracle has pushed back on a Bloomberg report that some of its datacentre projects for the massive $300 billion OpenAI deal have been deferred from 2027 to 2028. The company says site selection and delivery timelines were agreed with OpenAI and that all contractual milestones remain on track.

The contract, signed in September, commits Oracle to roughly 4.5 gigawatts of compute capacity over the coming years and is expected to contribute about $30 billion a year in revenue starting in 2027. Oracle highlighted that it does not always build or own the physical datacentre shells — partners and builders (for example Crusoe for the Stargate site in Abilene, Texas) construct and own facilities, and Oracle outfits and operates them once ready.

Oracle is also absorbing heavy up‑front costs: land and infrastructure are major expenses and the firm is carrying over $100 billion in debt. The company recently increased its capex outlook, and management says it has multiple avenues to secure capital and is exploring options such as letting customers deploy their own chips in Oracle‑operated sites to reduce liabilities.

Key Points

• Oracle denies Bloomberg’s claim that some datacentre sites for the OpenAI deal were delayed to 2028; it says milestones remain on schedule.
• The September agreement covers about 4.5GW of compute capacity and is projected to add roughly $30bn in annual revenue from 2027.
• Oracle typically does not own datacentre shells; third parties build the facilities and Oracle outfits and operates them — so timelines can depend on partners.
• Around half the cost of a modern AI datacentre is land and infrastructure; the rest is network, storage and compute, with compute being the largest slice.
• Oracle is carrying large debt (>$100bn) and raised its FY2026 capex outlook, spooking some investors; management says it has options to raise capital and reduce liabilities, including customer chip deployments.

Context and relevance

This story sits at the intersection of AI infrastructure, big vendor partnerships and market confidence. The size of the Oracle–OpenAI commitment has ripple effects across datacentre builders, chip suppliers and investors tracking capex in the AI boom. Any hint of slippage or financing strain is newsworthy because it could affect delivery schedules, pricing and the wider market for hyperscale AI compute.

Why should I read this?

Short version: if you care about who’s actually building the AI backbone (and who’s paying for it), this matters. Oracle says everything’s fine — but they’re also borrowing and spending big. We read the detail so you don’t have to: get the facts on timelines, who owns the bricks-and-mortar, and why investors are twitchy without slogging through the earnings call yourself.

Source

Source: https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2025/12/15/oracle_denies_openai_delays/