An analysis says the rapid pace of artificial intelligence chip upgrades is outstripping the speed of data centre construction, exposing a core risk in large-scale AI infrastructure investment strategies.

On March 9, CNBC reported that OpenAI revised parts of its cooperation plan with Oracle linked to the Stargate data centre in the Abilene area of Texas. It is said to have scrapped a plan to build a latest-generation Nvidia GPU-based cluster and is considering building a larger system in another region.

The issue is the gap between the pace of AI chip advances and data centre buildouts. The Abilene site in Texas is set to use Nvidia's next-generation Blackwell GPUs, but the power infrastructure is expected to take about 1 year to become operational. An OpenAI official who asked not to be identified said it plans to build a larger cluster in another region in the meantime to expand access to next-generation Nvidia chips.

Bloomberg first reported the news. Oracle countered in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying the report was false and inaccurate. It only stressed that the existing project was continuing and did not make specific comments about data centre expansion plans.

Oracle has already secured the site, ordered hardware and is spending billions of dollars on construction and hiring. But the industry is also looking at the possibility that expansion beyond the original plan could be limited.

Oracle's infrastructure strategy differs from its competitors. The company is pushing to build large-scale data centres by using about $100 billion in debt. By contrast, major cloud companies such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft mainly use their own cash flow to finance AI infrastructure investment.

Blue Owl Capital, another OpenAI partner, has also dropped plans for additional data centre investment and mentioned the possibility of job cuts of up to 30,000 people.

Another variable in AI infrastructure investment is the pace of GPU generation turnover. If it takes a long time to connect actual power after a data centre contract is signed, there is a risk that installed hardware quickly becomes outdated. This has also raised concerns that the value of billions of dollars in GPU investments could fall faster than expected.

Oracle is scheduled to report third-quarter results this week, and the market is watching how it will address a $50 billion capital spending plan and negative free cash flow. Oracle shares are down about 23 percent so far this year and are more than halved from their peak in September last year.