Feb 6 (Reuters) -

AI-infrastructure venture Stargate is nearing a decision on

additional locations for data center campuses in Texas and is

eyeing more projects in more than a dozen other U.S. states,

Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

Stargate, a

joint venture between ChatGPT creator OpenAI, Oracle

and SoftBank, plans to invest up to $500

billion to help the United States stay ahead of China and other

competitors in the global AI race.

In January, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the

private sector investment initiative to fund AI infrastructure,

aiming to outpace rival nations in this critical business

technology.

The initial data centers for the project are already under

construction in Texas, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison had said

then.

OpenAI is far along in the process of selecting multiple

locations in Texas for massive data center projects to support

AI services, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg.

Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed OpenAI is considering additional

potential sites in 13 more states, with staff from OpenAI and

SoftBank visiting locations in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and

Oregon this week, the report said.

OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank did not immediately respond to

Reuters' requests for comment.