Australia’s NextDC Teams With OpenAI to Develop Sydney Data Centre Campus

Australian data centre operator NextDC has joined forces with artificial intelligence startup OpenAI on the development of a hyperscale campus in western Sydney.

The partners entered a non-binding agreement late last week to plan, build and operate a next-generation AI campus and large-scale GPU supercluster at NextDC’s S7 site in the Eastern Creek data centre hub. The campus is expected to provide sovereign infrastructure to support sensitive workloads across sectors including government, defence, education, healthcare, research and financial services.

The project marks Australia’s ascension as a regional infrastructure partner under the OpenAI for Countries programme, which aims to support sovereign AI infrastructure, upskill workers and accelerate the country’s local AI ecosystem.

“Australia is well placed to be a global leader in AI, with deep technical talent, strong institutions and a clear ambition to use new technology to lift productivity,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a release. “Through OpenAI for Australia, we are focused on accelerating the infrastructure, workforce skills and local ecosystem needed to turn that opportunity into long-term economic growth.”

Critical Security Standards

No specifications were disclosed for the S7 project, but the companies billed the design as one of the most advanced sovereign AI campuses in Asia Pacific, with security, resilience and operational standards in line with Australia’s Security of Critical Infrastructure Act. 

The S7 site will incorporate next-generation features including closed-loop high-density liquid cooling for ultra-high-density GPU clusters, according to NextDC. Upon securing necessary approvals, the first phase of the S7 project is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2027.

The news follows NextDC’s August announcement that the Brisbane-based company had raised up to A$1.3 billion ($850 million) in additional debt facilities to support growth of its data centre network.

The disclosure represented an increase from the previously announced total of A$2.2 billion, with the company saying it would use the funding to speed expansion of its regional footprint.

“In light of recent record contract wins that are accelerating our revenue and earnings growth, NextDC is well positioned with A$6.4 billion in debt facilities and pro forma liquidity of approximately A$5.5 billion,” said chief executive and managing director Craig Scroggie. “This strong financial flexibility enables us to confidently deliver on our record contracted capacity pipeline while maintaining our industry-leading momentum.”

APAC Roadmap Unfolds

The Down Under development continues OpenAI’s APAC expansion after the chatbot champ revealed in September that it was open to exploring partnerships in South Korea on data centre construction.

Chief strategy officer Jason Kwon teased the plan at a press conference where OpenAI announced the official launch of its Korean office in Seoul — the San Francisco-based company’s third in Asia and 12th globally.

That same month, Bloomberg reported that OpenAI was seeking partners on the development of a 1-gigawatt data centre in India under the company’s Stargate digital infrastructure brand.