Weather Disruptions Delay CoreWeave, Core Scientific AI Data Center in Texas: Report
Heavy summer rains and winds in North Texas reportedly delayed construction by 60 days at the 260-megawatt AI compute data campus Core Scientific (NASDAQ: CORZ) is building for CoreWeave.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Monday, the setback occurred in Denton, north of Dallas, where adverse weather conditions over the summer prevented contractors from pouring concrete, people familiar with the matter told the Journal.
As a result, the completion date for the Denton data center cluster has been pushed back by several months. CoreWeave plans to lease the capacity at the site to OpenAI once construction is finished.
The Denton campus is part of CoreWeave’s broader expansion of large-scale AI infrastructure in Texas and elsewhere, much of which relies on third-party builders and landlords. Core Scientific, once a major bitcoin mining company that has pivoted toward high-performance computing, is the builder and landlord for the Denton project.
According to the Journal, the Denton delays were compounded by subsequent revisions to design plans at some data centers being built for CoreWeave by partners in Texas and other locations, contributing to broader schedule slippage. Core Scientific previously disclosed weather-related delays and design changes tied to GPU performance optimization in its collaborations with CoreWeave.
The construction issues surfaced amid heightened scrutiny of CoreWeave from investors. The Journal reported that CoreWeave’s shares have fallen sharply in recent weeks as concerns mounted over execution risks, leverage and the pace of returns on massive AI infrastructure investments.
During a November earnings call, CoreWeave executives gave mixed signals about the scope of the construction delays, which further unsettled the market, according to the report.
The delays also come against the backdrop of a recently abandoned acquisition attempt by CoreWeave to buy Core Scientific, a deal that would have vertically integrated some of its data center development. Core Scientific shareholders voted down the proposal in October, citing concerns about valuation and exposure to CoreWeave’s volatility.
CoreWeave’s stock price has tumbled by 50% since October, closing at $72 as of Monday.
