Oracle’s planned $16 billion data center campus in Michigan has secured financing, developer Related Digital said. The funding includes equity from Related Digital and funds affiliated with Blackstone, along with fixed-rate, long-term debt backed by PIMCO-managed funds and accounts, according to the company.
Bloomberg News reported PIMCO bought about $10 billion of the bonds that priced Friday, while other investors bought the remainder of the debt.
OpenAI, Oracle and Related Digital in October 2025 announced the project of more than 1 gigawatt data center in Saline Township, Michigan, as part of their push to expand U.S. AI infrastructure capacity. Construction started in February.
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The data center campus will span 250 acres to start, making it one of the largest in the United States. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last year called it the “largest investment in Michigan history.”
According to the Business Insider, the data center will help power Oracle’s AI business, which the company expects will generate some $90 billion in revenue by 2027. It is part of the Stargate project, a $500 billion initiative led by Oracle, OpenAI, and SoftBank to build AI infrastructure across the country.
However, there has been pushback from Michigan residents, who have concerns about the project. Protesters who gathered in Saline in December told Michigan Public Radio that they’re worried about the impact of the data center on the electric grid, as well as its potential for pollution.
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“If it magically went away, I would be very happy because I could go back to my quiet life, and I don’t have to stand out here on the corner and yell that I don’t want it here,” Michigan resident Tammie Bruneau told Michigan Public Radio.
While tech companies are racing to build data centers, they are also facing increasing criticism for this. A recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists found out that building data centers faster than utilities can supply electricity will lead to higher costs for everyone.
Rural America has emerged as the most popular location for building data centers.
In an investigation published in 2025, Business Insider identified 1,240 existing or planned data centers across the country as of 2024, the most definitive tally to date and a significant jump from the 311 that had permits in 2010. A sizable portion of those are or will be constructed in the Midwest.