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Today on the podcast I want to talk about Oracle and OpenAI, who recently we found OpenAI has agreed to pay Oracle $30 billion. This is an absolutely insane, you know, announcement basically. But the interesting thing was right after it came out, it basically came up because Oracle released some filings to the SEC where they said, you know, we have a $30 billion contract. And based off of that, Oracle's stock stock price skyrocketed, making the owner of Oracle the Rick the second richest man in the world after Elon Musk. So all of this is part of a much bigger 500 billion dollar project which the Wall Street Journal yesterday said was delayed and is off to a bad start. What exactly are they building that cost this much money? Where? Who is the customer for this $30 billion? All of that we're going to be breaking down on the podcast today and of course, all of the drama from the Wall Street Journal saying that maybe this is, you know, smoke and mirrors off to a bad start. This isn't going to be as good as you basically were told when they made this big kind of Stargate announcement earlier this year. So we're going to be diving into all of that. Before we do, I wanted to mention if you want to try any of the Latest models from OpenAI to Anthropic to Cohere, Deepseek, Google, I would love for you to try out my platform, which is AI Box AI. It's in beta right now and essentially allows you to access the top 40 AI models. You can compare all of the models. We have benchmark data. We have basically everything that you need for text, image, audio, and you can chat with it all in the same thread. So it's super useful. This is something that I hope saves people a lot of money. Basically you don't need subscriptions to 20 different platforms. You can have one subscription for $20 a month and get access to all of the top models. You could chat with them all in the same thread, which is so much more useful. You can just switch the model mid conversation. So if you want to check it out, there's a link in the description to AI Box AI and let me know what you think. All right, let's get into this 30 billion deal that's going on with Oracle and OpenAI. So basically, Wall Street Journal reports that, you know, everything is not going to plan with the $500 billion Stargate announcement that Sam Altman, Oracle and SoftBank made earlier this year. Sam Altman came on and essentially cleared the air. He went on Twitter and said Quote, we have signed a deal for an additional 4.5 gigawatts of capacity with Oracle as part of Stargate. Easy to throw around numbers, but this is a gigantic infrastructure project. Some progress photos from Abilene. So this is being built out in Abilene, Texas. And he shares a couple pictures, of course, one of just like the, the wires of the servers, but again, another of like an aerial view of exactly what they're building, which is an absolutely massive compound. This thing is huge and there's a ton of buildings that are already up. There's a ton more space for way more capacity that is getting built out. Right? This, the way these things work is they, they kind of roll in phases. So it's not like everything, start to finish is going to be ready at the same time. They'll get certain buildings done and actually get them into production before others. Now, the Wall Street Journal said this was off to a rocky start. They weren't going to be able to get things online when they were hoping for. I, I think Sam Altman basically had a response to that, but before I get to that, I want to say 5 or 4.5 gigawatts of capacity that is enough like basically energy to power 4 million different homes. This is like two Hoover dams gigawatts of capacity. So this is like an absolutely massive project that is so much. And they're basically building out all of this capacity to fuel all of the AI projects that OpenAI is going to be needed to do in the future. And Oracle made a great partnership and is, you know, obviously going to be benefiting a lot. Their company is growing a ton based off of this, but also they have the experience, so it makes sense to make. It is basically a pretty good partner for the, for OpenAI. So I think this is funny. So back in June, Oracle told, pretty much made an SEC filing. They said that they signed a new deal that was going to generate about $30 billion a year in revenue. So of course their stock absolutely exploded. One thing that I, I just want to mention though, like, we okay, $30 billion, Oracle's big company, yada yada. I think it's like important to know how big $30 billion is even for Oracle as a company. So collectively, Oracle last year sold about $24.5 billion worth of cloud services in for its fiscal year 2025 to all of its customers combined. So all of its customers generated about $24 billion so far in, I guess, fiscal year 2025. And now they're adding $30 billion from one customer that is absolutely massive. So what's interesting here is, you know, it's definitely. It's part of the $500 billion data center project, but this is apparently not like this is in addition to that 500 billion. So they're doing a $500 billion project that's including SoftBank. This $30 billion is not including it. It's just basically they're paying this money in addition to just to get extra gigawatts online. And I'm assuming It's because the $500 billion thing is going to take so much longer. It's a huge project. There's a lot of stuff that's going on, but they probably could get, you know, something with $30 billion down faster and online quicker. So this is going to be pretty crazy. Definitely not a straightforward project. This is going to use a ton of time, energy and money to build this out, but it's important. And we're seeing, you know, basically we're seeing all of these AI companies integrate in this way where you see someone like OpenAI building out their own data centers. You have Amazon's and they got AI tools and they're relying heavily on aws. Google is greatly benefited because they have Google Cloud. And then basically you see companies like Amazon Web Servers or, sorry, Anthropic, they is partnering with Amazon Web Servers, AWS and they kind of have to use them in order to get the compute that they need. But it's a tricky situation. They keep getting billions of dollars invested into their company from AWS Anthropic has. But, like, they're kind of stuck with them. Right? And so it's kind of interesting to see a company like OpenAI partner with Oracle. Now, Oracle doesn't really have its, you know, some sort of headline AI competing product. They're just more in kind of the data center space. And so it feels like a better partnership. Whereas, like Anthropic, they're. They're going to Amazon, who also builds their own AI tools. So it's almost like a direct competitor in a way. Now, I will say it's not like everyone's using Amazon AI per se. It's not really the thing. But like built into Amazon's website, they have the Rufus AI and they have a bunch of other AI tools that, like, I think not a lot of people think about, but they actually use. And so Amazon is a competitor and I think will be more and more of a competitor in the future. So all this to say Oracle is spending very heavily in order to build out these data centers. Last year Oracle spent $21.2 billion just on CapEx. And that was, so that was last fiscal year. They're expecting to spend about $25 billion this year, so about $50 billion total. And almost all of this was on data centers. So this also doesn't include any land purchases. This is just like literally building out the data centers. Um, and so I think that that is absolutely a massive sum. So one other thing that's really interesting on this, Sam Altman said that he just last month he was talking and he said that OpenAI finally passed $10 billion in annual recurring revenue. So what's interesting about this is, yeah, this is huge because it's up from about $5.5 billion last year. So they're seeing huge growth. But this $10 billion, this is only a third of the commitment they just made to Oracle just for data centers. And this is in addition to all the other data center deals they have, of course, how much money they have to spend for data, for their researchers, for everything else they have going on. That's absolutely massive. They're, you know, they're 3x. Their annual revenue they just gave away in one deal to Oracle. So this is a huge amount of money. But I think it really goes to like, basically the picture that this is painting to me is that OpenAI sees absolutely massive potential, but it's all contingent on how much compute they can get access to. They know that they're going to be dead. If Elon Musk and XAI get access to more compute and basically can build out, you know, have more compute, build out more data centers than them, they're going to get killed. Because it kind of comes to this point where the bigger your scale is, the cheaper you can make your AI, the more you can compete, otherwise you're going to get crushed by all the competitors. And we know that these AI models, basically OpenAI has shown that, that if you give more compute to an AI model, it will get a better result. Like, and, and that's not cheap, right? So they're like if we, for every question you ask, Chat GPT, if we gave it a thousand dollars worth of compute, then the responses were like world class, PhD level insane. So they're amazing. But that is very expensive to the point where they were giving it like $10,000 to answer some questions. And on the benchmarks, those are the greatest questions that have ever been answered by AI. They're amazing, right? But that's $10,000 a question. It's like insane. So what is the solution? Right, we, we have access to super, super smart AI, but the cost is so astronomical it doesn't make any sense. So what's the solution? The solution basically is to spend billions and billions of dollars building out massive data centers, massive compute. You can make these things at scale so you can bring down the costs. You can make them cheaper and faster. And this essentially is going to be the solution that it seems like every company, every major AI company is trying to build towards or work towards. It's a huge, it's a huge expense, a lot of capex. But this is how they're trying to keep their competitive advantage and stay ahead. So all of this is amazing. If you are if you learned anything new from this episode and if you want to give back, the number one way to do it would be to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcast. If you're on YouTube, drop a like and subscribe to the channel. It helps other people find the channel or find this podcast. So make sure to leave a rating, review or comment. Really, really appreciate them. And make sure to go check out AI box. AI if you want to get access to all of the top AI models in one place for one price, you don't have to pay for subscriptions to everything to test out all the top platforms. Thanks so much for tuning in today and I will catch you in the next episode.
The Mark Cuban Podcast: Episode Summary
Episode: The Cloud-AI Merger: Oracle and OpenAI
Release Date: July 28, 2025
In this episode of The Mark Cuban Podcast, host Mark Cuban dives deep into the recent monumental partnership between Oracle and OpenAI. Announced through Oracle's SEC filings, OpenAI has agreed to a staggering $30 billion contract with Oracle, a move that sent Oracle's stock soaring and catapulted its owner to become the second richest person globally, trailing only Elon Musk. Mark sets the stage by highlighting the immense scale of this collaboration and the broader context surrounding it.
Mark begins by discussing the sheer magnitude of the $30 billion agreement:
“OpenAI has agreed to pay Oracle $30 billion. This is an absolutely insane... announcement.”
[00:01]
He emphasizes the impact of this deal on Oracle's financials, noting that Oracle's fiscal year 2025 saw $24.5 billion in cloud services revenue. An additional $30 billion from a single customer not only surpasses their annual earnings but also underscores the significance of OpenAI's reliance on Oracle's infrastructure.
Beyond the $30 billion deal, Mark explores the ambitious $500 billion project known as "Stargate," a joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank. He references a Wall Street Journal report that characterizes the project’s initial phases as rocky and behind schedule:
“The Wall Street Journal yesterday said... this isn't going to be as good as you were basically told when they made this big kind of Stargate announcement earlier this year.”
[00:01]
Despite the delays, Mark highlights Sam Altman's (CEO of OpenAI) reassurance on Twitter about expanding capacity:
“We have signed a deal for an additional 4.5 gigawatts of capacity with Oracle as part of Stargate.”
[Timestamp Needed]
The episode delves into the specifics of the infrastructure being developed in Abilene, Texas. Mark describes the sprawling compound with multiple buildings already in place and more under construction, underscoring the phased approach to bringing these data centers online. He explains that the 4.5 gigawatts of capacity is monumental, equating to the energy output of approximately two Hoover Dams, sufficient to power 4 million homes.
Mark provides an analysis of Oracle's financial strategy, highlighting their significant capital expenditures:
“Last year Oracle spent $21.2 billion just on CapEx... they're expecting to spend about $25 billion this year, so about $50 billion total.”
[Timestamp Needed]
This investment is primarily directed towards expanding data center capabilities, positioning Oracle as a pivotal infrastructure partner for AI-driven enterprises. Mark contrasts Oracle’s role with other tech giants like Amazon, which, despite offering AI tools, also poses competitive threats in the AI space.
OpenAI's financial trajectory is another focal point. Mark notes that OpenAI has surpassed $10 billion in annual recurring revenue, doubling from $5.5 billion the previous year. However, this growth is juxtaposed against their massive commitment to Oracle:
“This is only a third of the commitment they just made to Oracle... it's 3x their annual revenue they just gave away in one deal.”
[Timestamp Needed]
This underscores OpenAI’s aggressive investment in scaling their AI capabilities, emphasizing the critical need for expansive compute resources to maintain their competitive edge.
Mark broadens the discussion to the competitive dynamics in the AI infrastructure space. He compares OpenAI's partnership with Oracle to other AI companies' dependencies on Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud:
“Oracle doesn't really have its, you know, some sort of headline AI competing product. They're just more in kind of the data center space... Whereas, like Anthropic, they're going to Amazon, who also builds their own AI tools.”
[Timestamp Needed]
This analysis highlights the strategic choices AI companies must make in selecting infrastructure partners that do not directly compete with their core AI offerings.
A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to discussing the escalating costs associated with AI compute power. Mark illustrates the financial demands of running advanced AI models:
“If we gave it a thousand dollars worth of compute, then the responses were like world class, PhD level insane... that's $10,000 a question. It's like insane.”
[Timestamp Needed]
He articulates the dilemma of balancing access to cutting-edge AI with the prohibitive costs, suggesting that massive investments in data center infrastructure are the only viable path to reducing these expenses and sustaining innovation.
Mark concludes by reflecting on the critical interplay between AI advancements and cloud infrastructure investments. He posits that the future of AI hinges on the ability of companies like OpenAI and Oracle to scale their compute capabilities cost-effectively. This episode serves as a comprehensive exploration of the financial, technical, and strategic facets of the burgeoning Cloud-AI merger landscape.
Before wrapping up, Mark encourages listeners to engage with the podcast:
“If you learned anything new from this episode and if you want to give back, the number one way to do it would be to leave a rating and review wherever you get your podcast.”
[Timestamp Needed]
He also promotes his platform, AI Box AI, which offers access to over 40 AI models for a single subscription fee, aiming to streamline the user experience and reduce costs associated with multiple AI service subscriptions.
Notable Quotes:
This episode provides a detailed examination of one of the most significant partnerships in the tech industry, offering listeners valuable insights into the evolving synergy between cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence.