OpenAI broke ground on The Barn, a 1GW data center campus in Saline, Michigan, alongside Governor Gretchen Whitmer, local labor leaders and partners Oracle, Related Digital and Walbridge. The facility will host advanced AI compute, part of OpenAI’s Stargate program to expand reliable, low‑cost AI services. Project costs, including power and infrastructure, will be covered by the developers, shielding ratepayers from higher electricity bills.

OpenAI pledged four concrete commitments: residents will not foot infrastructure bills; a closed‑loop cooling system will consume water comparable to a typical office building; the build will generate more than 2,500 union construction jobs, 450 permanent onsite roles and roughly 2,500 additional county‑wide and indirect positions; and a $10 million contribution will fund upgrades to Saline’s recreation center.

The campus is projected to yield $1 billion in tax revenue over its lease, supporting local significant schools and services, while OpenAI will offer up to $45 million in Codex credits to 400,000 Michigan students during the 2026‑2027 academic year. Combined with partnerships for AI literacy, the initiative anchors Michigan’s reindustrialization drive and secures a foothold for U.S. AI infrastructure.