OpenAI said Thursday it is evaluating the possibility of U.S. states as the location of potential AI data centers for its massive Stargate project and sees the project as the U.S. leading in the global AI competition The top priority. Ryan said about 16 states expressed interest in building data centers for Stargate, with Texas being the home of the "flagship" data center. The project's first data center has already started construction in Abilene, Texas.