OpenAI is scouring the U.S. for sites to build a network of huge data centers to power its artificial intelligence technology, expanding beyond a flagship Texas location and looking across 16 states to accelerate the Stargate project championed by President Donald Trump.

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar announced that Pennsylvania was one of three states that the company was evaluating for possible data center sites.

The companies in Stargate, the new consortium to build out AI infrastructure for OpenAI, are actively considering siting new data center projects in more than a dozen states, OpenAI announced Thursday.

OpenAI’s Stargate project has broadened its horizons as it looks beyond Texas and across the US for sites to build a network of data centers.

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.

ChatGPT maker OpenAI said on Thursday that it is evaluating U.S. states as potential artificial intelligence data center locations for its massive Stargate venture, framing the project as a matter of urgency for the United States to beat China in the global AI race.

OpenAI is scouting Oregon and 15 other states as it prepares to build a network of huge data centers to power its artificial intelligence technology, expanding beyond a flagship Texas location and looking across 16 states to accelerate the Stargate project championed by President Donald Trump.