Morrison Foerster advised SoftBank on a strategic investment of $1 billion in SB Energy by SoftBank Group and OpenAI to build and operate next-generation AI data centers as part of The Stargate Project.
The equity investment in SB Energy will support its growth as a leading development and execution partner for data center campuses and associated energy infrastructure. In connection with the investment, OpenAI entered into a 1.2 GW data center lease with SB Energy to build and operate a Stargate site in Milam County, Texas. The parties also formed a non-exclusive preferred partnership to develop a new model for data center builds, bringing together OpenAI’s first-party data center design with SB Energy’s proven expertise in speed, cost discipline, and integrated energy delivery to deliver purpose-built AI infrastructure at scale.
The MoFo team advising SoftBank was led by mergers + acquisitions partner Ken Siegel, private equity partner Chris McKinnon and private funds partner Stephanie Thomas, supported by tax partners Richard Nugent and Dave Sturgeon.
