Feb 6 (Reuters) - ChatGPT maker OpenAI said on Thursday

that Texas will be the "flagship" data center site in the

Stargate project it is building with SoftBank.

Around 16 states have indicated interest in building data

centers for Stargate, an OpenAI executive said on a conference

call.

Stargate 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.

Stargate will build data centers and create more than

100,000 jobs in the United States, Trump said.

These companies, along with other equity backers of

Stargate, have committed $100 billion for immediate deployment,

with the remaining investment expected to occur over the next

four years.

The initial data centers for the project are already under

construction in Texas, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison

had said then.