SALINE TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Michigan has been selected to house what Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D – MI) calls the “largest economic project” in the state’s history.
Known as OpenAI Stargate, the multi-billion project built by OpenAI, Oracle and Related Digital aims to construct one of the “most advanced AI infrastructure facilities in the US” in Saline Township, Mich., according to the Executive Office of the Governor.
It is expected to create more than 2,500 union construction jobs, more than 450 jobs on site and 1,500 additional jobs across Washtenaw County.
“I’m grateful to these cutting-edge companies for betting on Michigan, building on our work to compete for and win big projects in next-generation industries from cars and clean energy to semiconductors and batteries,” Whitmer said. “We will continue working together at the state level to win more projects so we can create even more good-paying, local jobs for Michiganders and grow our economy.”
The one gigawatt project will not need to generate additional power to operate.
According to officials, OpenAI Stargate is expected to use a closed loop water system that will not require any additional water from the Great Lakes, and will preserve more than 700 acres of open space, which will be retained and used as farmland, wetland and forest.
Related Digital is also expected to invest an additional $14 million, as requested by the Saline Township Board, in local fire departments, a community investment fund and a farmland preservation trust, officials said.
Moreover, the project is expected to have minimal impacts on traffic, according to a Michigan Department of Transportation study that awarded the project an ‘A.’
“This investment from Oracle and Related Digital sends a simple message to anyone who wants to build the future—you can build it in Michigan,” Whitmer said.
Michigan was chosen for OpenAI Stargate because of the state’s strong workforce, local talent, and bipartisan legislation that Gov. Whitmer signed in January to lower costs for construction of high-tech infrastructure.
Specifically, Whitmer signed House Bill 4906, which amended to Use Tax Act and General Sales Tax Act to do the following in part:
- Extend the sunset on a use and sales tax exemption for qualified entities’ sale, storage, use or consumption of data center equipment through Dec. 31, 2050.
- Establish the same use and sales tax exemption for enterprise data centers, facilities that met specific requirements related to capital investment and the creation of new jobs in Michigan, through Dec. 31, 2050.
- Establish the same use and sales tax exemption for an enterprise data center located on a brownfield redevelopment or former electric power plant through Dec. 31, 2065.
This document contains a bill analysis for House Bill 4906, which amended the Use Tax and General Sales Tax Acts. Gov. Whitmer signed the bill into law in January 2025. (Michigan Legislature/WWMT)
Click here to view the PDF file
In addition, proximity to the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University offered a “pipeline of local talent and an opportunity for young Michiganders to start their in-demand, high-paying careers” in the state, officials said.
A groundbreaking date for OpenAI Stargate was not disclosed.
