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OpenAI signed a MoU with NEXTDC to collaborate on a next-generation hyperscale AI campus and large GPU supercluster
In sum – what to know:
OpenAI launches its first APAC country program – OpenAI for Australia aims to expand sovereign AI infrastructure, workforce skills, and the national AI ecosystem.
MoU with NEXTDC establishes a sovereign AI campus – A new hyperscale site in Sydney will host a large GPU supercluster and create thousands of skilled jobs.
AI training for 1.2M workers and SMEs – OpenAI partners with CommBank, Coles and Wesfarmers to deliver nationwide AI-literacy programs starting in 2026.
OpenAI has launched OpenAI for Australia, a nationwide initiative designed to work with local partners to unlock the country’s full economic and societal potential from AI.
The program marks OpenAI’s first “OpenAI for Countries” deployment in the Asia-Pacific region and aims to strengthen sovereign AI infrastructure, build workforce skills, and support Australia’s growing AI ecosystem.
“Australia is well positioned to lead globally in AI, with strong technical capabilities, trusted institutions, and a clear ambition to boost productivity,” said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. “Through OpenAI for Australia, we aim to accelerate the infrastructure, skills and local ecosystem needed to translate that opportunity into long-term economic growth.”
OpenAI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NEXTDC to collaborate on a next-generation hyperscale AI campus and large GPU supercluster at the company’s S7 site in Eastern Creek, Sydney.
Under the agreement, OpenAI intends to be an initial offtaker, with the option to expand over time. The S7 campus would provide Australia with sovereign compute capacity for sensitive government, enterprise, research, and national infrastructure workloads.
OpenAI also announced a large-scale skills initiative with CommBank, Coles, and Wesfarmers — three of the country’s largest employers — to deliver AI training to more than 1.2 million workers and small businesses. Coles and Wesfarmers will deploy the training to their entire workforces, while CommBank will make modules available to one million small business customers.
OpenAI’s experts will co-develop custom content aligned to real-world Australian scenarios. National rollout of these courses is planned for 2026 and will become one of the most extensive AI-skills initiatives ever undertaken in Australia.
In September, OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank announced five new U.S. data center sites under the Stargate initiative. OpenAI said that the expansion brings Stargate’s total planned capacity to almost 7GW, with more than $400 billion in investment already committed — placing the initiative on track to reach its $500 billion, 10GW target by the end of 2025, ahead of schedule.
OpenAI previously announced the launch of “OpenAI for Countries” as an initiative within the Stargate project. It has announced plans to offer formalized infrastructure partnerships with national governments, in coordination with the U.S. administration, to help build local AI data center capacity.
Under this initiative, the company will partner with countries to help build in-country data center capacity. These secure data centers will help support the sovereignty of a country’s data, build new local industries, and make it easy to customize AI and leverage their data in a private and compliant way, OpenAI said.
