A US$25-billion artificial intelligence data centre planned for Argentina’s Patagonia region will operate under President Javier Milei’s incentive scheme, with 30-year fiscal and customs benefits designed to attract foreign capital to strategic sectors.
Who Decided
OpenAI and Argentine firm Sur Energy signed a letter of intent for the investment, which will build a massive artificial intelligence data centre in Argentina’s Patagonia region. The project, named Stargate Argentina, was announced by Argentina’s government on Friday, October 10, 2025.
The initiative will operate under President Javier Milei’s “Régimen de Incentivos para Grandes Inversiones” (RIGI) incentive scheme. The scheme provides 30-year fiscal and customs benefits to attract foreign capital to strategic sectors.
The project will be developed as a joint venture between Sur Energy and a global cloud infrastructure provider, with OpenAI serving as the primary buyer of computing capacity. The announcement followed a meeting on Friday, October 10, 2025, involving President Javier Milei, top officials, and senior executives from OpenAI and Sur Energy.
Demian Reidel, an advisor to President Milei and president of state-run Nucleoeléctrica Argentina SA, which the government plans to part-privatise, also attended the meeting.
President Milei’s office stated that the meeting reflected OpenAI’s interest in investing in technological infrastructure to expand the global reach of artificial intelligence, aligning with Argentina’s goal to become a sustainable innovation hub.
What It Costs the People
The exact location and start date of the project were not disclosed. The Stargate Argentina data centre is designed to host the next generation of AI computing, with a capacity of up to 500 MW.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman stated in a video message that Stargate Argentina is the company's first Stargate project in Latin America, a region he described as "full of talent, creativity and ambition," emphasizing its role in making AI accessible across Argentina.
Altman also mentioned meeting President Milei during his visit to San Francisco in 2024, noting Milei's "unmistakable and strong" vision for AI-driven growth in Argentina.
Sur Energy, founded by Argentine entrepreneurs, will lead the energy and infrastructure aspects of the project, ensuring the data centre ecosystem is powered by secure, efficient, and sustainable sources. Emiliano Kargieman, a Sur Energy partner, stated that the project represents a "historic opportunity for the country," combining Argentina’s renewable energy potential with critical AI infrastructure development.
He added that this alliance positions Argentina as a key player in the new digital and energy landscape, creating high-quality jobs, attracting international investment, and demonstrating that innovation and energy can be complementary drivers of sustainable development.
The Global Framework
The partnership will also extend access to OpenAI technology across Argentina through the “OpenAI for Countries” initiative, beginning with government agencies to help public employees, administrators, and research institutions use AI to streamline work, reduce costs, and improve public services.
OpenAI has previously indicated its Stargate initiative involves an estimated US$500 billion in global investments for a worldwide network of next-generation data centres.
In May 2025, Altman discussed OpenAI's plans to partner with national governments to enhance data centre capacity and customize the firm's products for specific languages and local needs.
Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s number two, rejected the idea that such significant spending on AI infrastructure could be a bubble, calling it "the new reality" necessary to meet increasing user demand.
Simo stated, "This is a massive investment in computing power at a time when we are desperately short of it for many of the applications people want," and "I think the world is really going to change and realise that computing power is the most strategic resource."