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.

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.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -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.