Oracle is making a massive push into AI-driven cloud computing, investing heavily in new data center infrastructure to support its growing ambitions. One of the most striking elements of this expansion is a new facility under construction in Shackelford County, Texas, which is expected to cost around $1 billion annually just to operate—primarily due to its reliance on gas-powered generators. According to Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources, Oracle is bypassing traditional utility connections, which can take years to secure, in favor of on-site power generation to accelerate deployment. This move underscores Oracle’s urgency to scale quickly and its willingness to prioritize speed and performance over environmental considerations. The company, founded in 1977 and long known for its enterprise database software, has transformed over the past decade into a major player in the cloud computing space—once skeptical of the shift, it now sees AI as its future. A key factor in Oracle’s rise has been its “bare metal” cloud model, which offers clients dedicated, high-performance servers without sharing resources with others. This approach provides faster processing and enhanced security, making it particularly attractive to AI developers and large tech firms. Oracle’s reputation has grown rapidly, especially after landing a major deal with TikTok in 2022, when the company began hosting all U.S. user traffic for the app—generating over $1 billion in annual revenue. Today, Oracle is also powering Elon Musk’s xAI from a data center in Utah and building a massive cluster of tens of thousands of AI chips for Nvidia. These high-profile partnerships have significantly boosted Oracle’s profile and contributed to its founder, Larry Ellison, becoming the second-richest person in the world, just behind Musk. The company recently secured what Bloomberg described as the largest single cloud deal in history with OpenAI for the Stargate project—a joint venture announced at the White House in January. Under the agreement, Oracle and OpenAI plan to develop about 4.5 gigawatts of data center capacity. To put that in perspective, one gigawatt can power roughly 750,000 homes. Despite the ambitious announcement, real-world progress on the project remains limited. The new Texas facility, developed by Vantage Data Centers, will have a 1.4-gigawatt capacity—making it one of the largest data centers in the world. It’s located near another Oracle data center in Abilene, reinforcing the company’s strategic focus on Texas as a hub for its AI infrastructure. Oracle has not yet commented on the reports.