OpenAI Faces Friction with SoftBank Over Data Center Plans
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 23 2026
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Should l Buy GOOGL?
Source: stocktwits
- Reduced Funding Plans: OpenAI is now targeting approximately $600 billion in AI infrastructure investment through 2030, significantly lower than the previously touted $1.4 trillion, reflecting concerns about future investment returns that could impact its long-term strategic direction.
- Stargate Project Obstacles: The ambitious Stargate initiative, originally planned with a $500 billion investment, has encountered significant roadblocks due to disagreements with SoftBank over data center construction, highlighting the challenges OpenAI faces in executing large-scale projects.
- Collaboration Conflicts with SoftBank: Fundamental disagreements between OpenAI and SoftBank regarding data center locations and project management have emerged, and although a compromise was reached with a long-term lease, SoftBank retains control over the facility, potentially limiting OpenAI's autonomy in development.
- Market Reaction and Investor Confidence: Growing fears about AI investment returns have led to a broad selloff in tech stocks, and OpenAI's reduced spending plans may further undermine investor confidence, raising questions about the company's future growth potential.
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Analyst Views on GOOGL
Wall Street analysts forecast GOOGL stock price to rise
33 Analyst Rating
26 Buy
7 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 297.390
Low
305.00
Averages
374.25
High
400.00
Current: 297.390
Low
305.00
Averages
374.25
High
400.00
About GOOGL
Alphabet Inc. is a holding company. The Company's segments include Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets. The Google Services segment includes products and services such as ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Google Maps, Google Play, Search, and YouTube. The Google Cloud segment includes infrastructure and platform services, collaboration tools, and other services for enterprise customers. Its Other Bets segment is engaged in the sale of healthcare-related services and Internet services. Its Google Cloud provides enterprise-ready cloud services, including Google Cloud Platform and Google Workspace. Google Cloud Platform provides access to solutions such as artificial intelligence (AI) offerings, including its AI infrastructure, Vertex AI platform, and Gemini for Google Cloud; cybersecurity, and data and analytics. Google Workspace includes cloud-based communication and collaboration tools for enterprises, such as Calendar, Gmail, Docs, Drive, and Meet.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
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- Strong Google Cloud Performance: Alphabet's revenue rose 18% year-over-year to $113.8 billion in Q4, with cloud computing revenue surging 48% to $17.7 billion, indicating robust growth potential in the high-margin enterprise cloud market.
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See More
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- Google Algorithm Impact: Google's TurboQuant algorithm reduces memory requirements by six times, leading the market to mistakenly assume a decrease in memory chip demand; however, AI hyperscalers are likely to repurpose this memory for other applications, thus not alleviating the memory bottleneck.
- High-Bandwidth Memory Market Growth: Micron estimates the high-bandwidth memory market will reach $35 billion by 2025 and triple to $100 billion by 2028, yet the company can currently only fulfill 50% to 66% of its orders, indicating robust market demand.
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See More
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- Market Demand Forecast: Micron estimates that the high-bandwidth memory market will reach $35 billion by 2025 and triple to $100 billion by 2028, yet the company currently meets only about 50% to 66% of its orders, indicating significant challenges in fulfilling market demand.
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See More
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- Health Challenges: In a memo, Simo revealed that her health has been particularly poor over the past month, and despite postponing medical tests to focus on work, she recognized the need for new interventions to stabilize her health, which may affect her long-term performance.
- Strategic Focus: An OpenAI spokesperson stated that despite the leadership changes, the company remains committed to advancing frontier research, expanding its global user base of nearly 1 billion, and powering enterprise use cases, demonstrating ongoing execution strength in key areas.
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See More
