Source: Financial Times
OpenAI has quietly exited the Stargate joint venture with SoftBank and Oracle, shifting strategy toward direct bilateral relationships with capital partners. The move concentrates decision-making power and margin capture within OpenAI rather than distributing them across shared governance. Stargate was positioned as the industry's answer to compute scarcity. OpenAI's departure suggests either that the company believes it can secure capital more efficiently alone, or that partnership terms clashed with its commercial pace. SoftBank and Oracle lose leverage in infrastructure buildout. OpenAI's compute ambitions now depend on sustained bilateral financing rather than a committed joint entity.