FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Dec 5 (Reuters) - NEXTDC said on Friday it has inked a memorandum of understanding with ChatGPT maker OpenAI to jointly plan, develop and operate a hyperscale AI campus and graphics processing unit, or GPU, supercluster at its S7 site in Sydney.

The Queensland-based data centre operator's S7 site at Eastern Creek in Sydney was acquired last October for nearly A$353 million ($233.37 million) and offers 550 megawatts (MW) of potential capacity.

The AI boom is spurring a global race for data centre capacity, with hyperscale builds luring tech giants and investors, and operators like NEXTDC riding the wave, lifting its contracted utilisation by 71 MW to 316 MW after recent wins.

The Australian Financial Review reported on the deal on Thursday.

($1 = 1.5126 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Alan Barona)