OpenAI joins PORTS-Pike project

OpenAI has agreed to secure data center capacity at a technology campus in Pike County, Ohio, partnering with energy and infrastructure companies and the U.S. Department of Energy. The project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs over a six-year period and permanent operating positions, along with generating hundreds of millions in state and local tax revenue. OpenAI will invest $40 million in community grants shaped by local priorities and provide college students across Ohio with credits to access its AI software tools. The data center will use closed-loop cooling systems to reduce water consumption and will pay its own energy and infrastructure costs without shifting expenses to regional ratepayers.