CoreWeave Cancels Massive Texas AI Data Center Project

CoreWeave and AI startup Poolside have mutually terminated their agreement for "Project Horizon," a planned 2-gigawatt AI data center campus in West Texas. News of the cancellation broke on April 3–4, 2026, highlighting the growing challenges facing the AI infrastructure buildout.

The partnership was originally announced in October 2025, with CoreWeave designated as the anchor tenant for a first 250-megawatt phase of the campus, with an option for a 500-megawatt expansion under a 15-year lease. The entire deal has now collapsed.

Both parties cited "diverging strategic paths and timing considerations." Specifically, Poolside failed to meet CoreWeave's deadline to bring the first cluster of chips online. CoreWeave also recently secured an $8.5 billion loan facility, enabling it to shift toward flexible multi-partner leasing rather than fixed long-term commitments.

For Poolside, the situation is challenging. The company is now actively seeking alternative partners. Reports indicate that Google has held discussions about stepping into CoreWeave's role on the project.

The cancellation is part of a broader pattern. Analysts estimate that nearly half of all US data center projects scheduled to open in 2026 are expected to face delays or cancellations. Shortages of electrical components, grid capacity constraints, and financing challenges are slowing the infrastructure buildout that the entire AI industry depends on.

For enterprise CIOs planning AI infrastructure, this is a meaningful signal: even the largest players are struggling to bring massive compute capacity online on schedule. Cloud-based and flexible leasing models are winning out over long-term, owned data center bets.