Oracle, Blue Owl project delay sends ripples through AI financing
ORCL•Oracle issued a force majeure notice over delays at Project Jupiter, a New Mexico data center campus developed by Blue Owl, and the project is facing a one-year delay. Blue Owl has about $3 billion of equity invested, while Morgan Stanley estimates AI infrastructure will require $1.5 trillion in external financing by 2028.
1. Project delay
Oracle issued a force majeure notice related to Project Jupiter, a data center campus Blue Owl unit STACK Infrastructure is building in New Mexico to support OpenAI. The program is being delayed by a year because of delays securing power to the site, a person familiar with the matter said. Blue Owl said the notice does not change the parties’ financial commitments to the multiyear project.
2. Financing concerns
Blue Owl has about $3 billion of equity invested in the project and earns a lower return during construction, with returns increasing once the data center is complete, a person familiar with the terms said. The delay pushes back the start of those higher returns. Bankers and investors said the notice is reverberating through discussions about other proposed data center financings.
3. Broader project risks
Lenders and investors are scrutinizing how risks are allocated in AI infrastructure deals as the industry expands. Morgan Stanley estimates the sector will require $1.5 trillion in external financing by 2028. At least 45 projects worth $68 billion faced community opposition in the second quarter of 2026, after 75 projects worth about $130 billion were disrupted in the first quarter, according to Data Center Watch.
