OpenAI has officially launched "OpenAI for Countries," a new initiative aimed at partnering with governments around the world to develop secure, sovereign AI infrastructure aligned with democratic principles. The effort is part of the broader Stargate project, OpenAI's plan to establish a network of supercomputing campuses, starting with its first facility in Abilene, Texas.
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From Stargate to the World
Announced in January alongside President Donald Trump, Oracle, and SoftBank, the Stargate project represents a major investment in US-led AI innovation. With growing international interest, OpenAI now intends to replicate this infrastructure model globally through formal collaborations with like-minded nations.
OpenAI for Countries
"We're introducing OpenAI for Countries, a new initiative within the Stargate project. This is a moment when we need to act to support countries around the world that would prefer to build on democratic AI rails, and provide a clear alternative to authoritarian versions of AI that would deploy it to consolidate power," OpenAI said in a blogpost on May 7, 2025.
"We've heard from many countries asking for help in building out similar AI infrastructure—that they want their own Stargates and similar projects. It's clear to everyone now that this kind of infrastructure is going to be the backbone of future economic growth and national development," OpenAI highlighted.
Democratic Vision for AI Development
OpenAI said it wants to help these countries and, in the process, spread democratic AI, which means the development, use and deployment of AI that protects and incorporates long-standing democratic principles. Examples of this include the freedom for people to choose how they work with and direct AI, the prevention of government use of AI to amass control, and a free market that ensures free competition.
Global Collaboration on AI Infrastructure
The initiative focuses on five key pillars: building in-country data center capacity, providing localised versions of ChatGPT to citizens, enhancing safety and security controls for AI models, launching joint AI startup funds, and expanding the Stargate network through international investment. OpenAI emphasises that these partnerships will uphold data sovereignty, promote innovation, and ensure AI systems reflect local cultures and languages.
"AI will scale human ingenuity itself and drive more prosperity by scaling our freedoms to learn, think, create and produce all at once," the company said.
Each national partnership will be developed in coordination with the US government and will include both public and private sector contributions. OpenAI plans to pursue ten such projects in its initial phase.
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How Countries Can Join
"As OpenAI moves forward with OpenAI for Countries, our goal is to pursue 10 projects with individual countries or regions as the first phase of this initiative, and expand from there," the company said.
The company noted that countries interested in participating can engage through their US-based representatives or OpenAI's global offices.
