U.S. software corporations Oracle is struggling to attract investment for a $10 billion AI data center project it is building for OpenAI.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 17th that Blue Owl Capital, Oracle's investment partner, will not invest in the 1 GW data center project under construction in Salem Township, Michigan.
Blue Owl has been a key backer of Oracle's data center project and has invested in a leaseback structure to Oracle. However, talks fell through over concerns about Oracle's rising liability and surging expenditure on AI infrastructure. Oracle's liability rose 34.6% from $78 billion last year to $105 billion, and is expected to grow to $290 billion.
Delays in building the Michigan data center could pose a risk to OpenAI's training of next-generation AI models, because massive computing resources are essential to maintain an edge in the AI race.
Oracle said, "Development partner Related Digital has selected the best financial partner," adding that negotiations are proceeding as planned. But the FT, citing sources, said Oracle is in talks with other potential financial partners, including Blackstone, but has not yet reached a deal.