OpenAI’s proposed data centre in Argentina’s Patagonia region has yet to move beyond a letter of intent with local partner Sur Energy, one year after the project was announced with a potential investment of up to $25bn, and has not applied to join the country’s Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI), Bloomberg Línea reported.
The project, known as Stargate Argentina, was announced on October 10, 2025, following a high-profile meeting between President Javier Milei and OpenAI representatives at the presidential palace. The proposed facility would have computing capacity of up to 500 megawatts, but a definitive contract has not been signed, leaving construction without a formal starting point.
In August, Sur Energy co-founder Emiliano Kargieman told Bloomberg Línea that negotiations with the ChatGPT owner were continuing and that the US company “still thinks the opportunity exists”. He added, however, that the project had not progressed from the initial letter of intent to a definitive agreement, which would allow construction to begin.
Asked about developments since August, Argentina’s Economy Ministry referred enquiries to the Energy Secretariat, which did not immediately respond. Kargieman also did not respond to a request for an update.
OpenAI has described itself as a potential buyer of computing capacity, saying any purchase would “depend” on the energy and infrastructure development led by Sur Energy, Clarín reported.
The proposed investment of up to $25bn also requires qualification, Kargieman said in his August interview. He estimated that about $18bn would go towards purchasing Nvidia chips, which he described as equipment that would “come in and go out, without even coming in”.
Kargieman argued that the project's longer-term economic value for Argentina would lie in establishing an export industry for computing services, potentially generating “tens of billions of dollars a year” by taking advantage of renewable energy resources in Patagonia.
The company has selected a site in the Confluencia area of Neuquén province in coordination with the provincial government. However, the project has not yet secured a definitive contract with OpenAI.
In November 2025, Kargieman projected that construction would begin in 2026, operations would start in 2027 and an application to join the RIGI would be submitted early this year. On April 29, the Economy Ministry informed lawmakers that Stargate Argentina had not applied to enter the incentive scheme and had no application under review.
Earlier this month, Kargieman told Infobae that Sur Energy had agreements for energy supply with Central Puerto and Genneia, as well as an agreement with computing infrastructure company Fluidstack. The company has also selected the project site.
The government is separately promoting a proposed expansion of the investment incentive framework known as Súper RIGI. The measure, which has received initial approval in the lower house and remains pending in the Senate, aims in part to facilitate investment in data centres.
Argentina seeks to attract AI infrastructure
The Stargate announcement formed part of Milei’s broader ambition to establish Argentina as a destination for artificial intelligence infrastructure. In October 2025, the president said the country was well suited to hosting data centres. In 2024, he had outlined a goal of making Argentina the world’s fourth major AI hub, alongside the United States, China and the European Union.
Energy availability has become a central consideration for data centre developers. Marcelo Mindlin, chairman of Pampa Energía, recently said at Argentina Week in Paris that the main constraint on AI development had shifted from chips to energy, arguing that data centres were increasingly seeking locations close to power supplies.
“More and more data centres are trying to go where the energy is. And in that sense, I believe Argentina, and Pampa in particular, have a great future,” Mindlin said. He added that Pampa would have nearly 800 megawatts of capacity available next year.
Despite the site selection and reported agreements with energy suppliers, Stargate Argentina remains at the preliminary stage, with no definitive contract with OpenAI and no application for RIGI benefits.
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