Wedoany.com Report-Nov. 21, SoftBank plans to invest up to $3 billion to transform a former electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Lordstown, Ohio, into a facility dedicated to producing advanced equipment for OpenAI’s data centers, according to a report published by The Information on Thursday.

SoftBank Corp's logo is pictured at a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, February 4, 2021.

The revamped factory will primarily manufacture modular data center units for OpenAI’s upcoming facilities, including a major site in Milam County, Texas, and additional locations across the United States. These modular units are pre-assembled, portable systems designed for rapid deployment and easy expansion of computing capacity.

SoftBank acquired the Lordstown complex in August for $375 million. The investment forms part of the Japanese company’s broader commitment to support large-scale artificial intelligence infrastructure development, with OpenAI at the center of its strategy.

In September, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank jointly unveiled plans to establish five major AI data centers in the United States as part of the $500 billion Stargate initiative, aimed at creating a nationwide high-performance computing network. The Ohio project aligns with this collaboration.

Production of the modular data center components is scheduled to begin early next year. The Lordstown site will also feature a small operational data center to serve as a demonstration and testing model.

The initiative builds on a larger partnership framework announced earlier this year, through which SoftBank has committed significant resources to accelerate the development of next-generation AI computing infrastructure.

OpenAI continues to expand its computing capacity to support the training and operation of advanced AI models. The company has outlined ambitious goals for building substantial additional power and processing resources to meet growing demand for generative artificial intelligence applications.

The Lordstown facility’s conversion represents a strategic repurposing of existing industrial infrastructure to serve the rapidly expanding needs of AI data centers, combining SoftBank’s manufacturing capabilities with OpenAI’s computing requirements. The project is expected to create new employment opportunities in Ohio while contributing to the establishment of domestic AI infrastructure at scale.

Neither SoftBank nor OpenAI immediately responded to requests for comment on the report. The development underscores the increasing convergence of manufacturing expertise and artificial intelligence technology to address the infrastructure demands of the AI sector.