Oracle’s legal hedge puts its 2028 AI bet under harsher scrutiny
Oracle’s legal hedge puts its 2028 AI bet under harsher scrutiny
Project Jupiter was pitched early in President Donald Trump’s second term as a flagship of Stargate, the AI-infrastructure initiative involving Oracle, OpenAI and SoftBank. The New Mexico campus is designed for 2.45 gigawatts of capacity, but its construction has become entangled in local opposition, environmental concerns and the difficult task of securing reliable energy.
The pressure has been building. An Energy Transfer pipeline intended to supply gas for Bloom Energy fuel cells was pushed back by nearly six months, to February 1, 2027, after permit denials forced a route change. A separate air-quality permit remains pending, with New Mexico regulators facing a November 23 decision deadline.
Against that backdrop, Oracle sent a force majeure notice to STACK Infrastructure, the Blue Owl Capital-owned developer of the campus. The mechanism could let Oracle delay payments if the site misses its 2028 opening target, though reporting says the company is not seeking to abandon its role as main tenant. Oracle insists there is no change in its timetable: “Project Jupiter remains on our planned schedule,” the company said, adding that it remains committed to New Mexico.
Blue Owl likewise said the notice does not alter the project’s financial commitments. Oracle argues such notices are commonplace on developments of this scale, used to preserve contractual rights rather than signal a delivery failure.
Wall Street has been less relaxed. Oracle shares fell about 4% to 5% after the disclosure, while RBC analyst Rishi Jaluria said the move suggested Oracle’s internal assessment of execution risk had shifted enough to warrant “legal cover.” The stakes are substantial: Oracle has borrowed heavily for data-center expansion, reported $28.5 billion in first-quarter capital spending and is relying on new sites such as Jupiter to turn an AI-contract backlog into revenue.
For now, the divide is clear. Oracle calls the notice prudent housekeeping; skeptics see a warning that power, permits and financing may yet outrun the company’s 2028 promise.
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