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Oracle on the hook to pay data centre investors even if site has no electricity

158 points · 154 comments · Betelbuddy

  1. runeks · · focus · HN ↗
    > The tech group has issued a force majeure notice related to the power supply to the project developer, a unit of Blue Owl Capital, after the site ran into permitting delays after rising local opposition.

    Since when can failing to get a permit be considered force majeure?

    Doesn't majeure specifically denote something large scale and out of anyone's control, such as a hurricane?

    1. dgellow · · focus · HN ↗
      Oracle is in a pretty bad situation, it’s a desperate move. Their debt is rated just above junk since July. They are completely over leveraged. There is a reason the share price has been trending down so much
      1. athrowaway3z · · focus · HN ↗
        Its funny how before Oracle got in everybody was guessing who'd be swimming most naked when the tide goes out. CoreWeave obviously, but OpenAI likely as well depending on whom you'd ask.

        With the contracts that "One Rich Asshole Called Larry Ellison" jumped on its without a doubt Oracle going down second if not first.

        He's just gambling because he's old and feeling bold.

        1. dgellow · · focus · HN ↗
          I had that exact thought when SoftBank got involved :)

          It’s like if I see the EU announce a large investment in AI, always makes me nervous given how we are often late to the party

          1. be8e9dmrro · · focus · HN ↗

            [dead]

            1. iso1631 · · focus · HN ↗
              wtf are you on about?

              There's certainly been some small attacks in the EU+ caused by Russia, and many more attributed to Russia, and of course Ukraine, which is not in the EU and never has been, is bombing Russian cities in retaliation for the massive invasion and continued occupation Russia launched some years ago.

            2. nkrisc · · focus · HN ↗
              Russia is being bombed by the country they chose to invade.
          2. bogzz · · focus · HN ↗
            SoftBank has the BEST decks.

            <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;group.softbank&#x2F;media&#x2F;Project&#x2F;sbg&#x2F;sbg&#x2F;pdf&#x2F;ir&#x2F;investors&#x2F;shareholders&#x2F;2026&#x2F;shareholders-meeting_46_05_en.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;group.softbank&#x2F;media&#x2F;Project&#x2F;sbg&#x2F;sbg&#x2F;pdf&#x2F;ir&#x2F;investor...

            The whole thing is amazing, but it gets even better on page 45.

            1. ungreased0675 · · focus · HN ↗
              It’s hard to believe that’s not a parody.
            2. dam_jackalopes · · focus · HN ↗
              lol. Thanks for this. GOOSE VALUE!
              1. chorizo · · focus · HN ↗
                Eggs do not lay eggs. The goose was not valued.
                1. throwawayqqq11 · · focus · HN ↗
                  AI will help humans eggvolute!
            3. m4rkuskk · · focus · HN ↗
              Embarrassing to provide this AI slop to investors.
            4. merelydev · · focus · HN ↗
              How much to get your own domain like that?
              1. MandieD · · focus · HN ↗
                Custom top-level domain? About $200k to even apply, plus about $50k&#x2F;year, if I recall correctly.
              2. fragmede · · focus · HN ↗
                Roughly $600k these days, after fees. Just need 59 friends to put in $10k, or 599 friends to each put in $1k!
        2. Cpoll · · focus · HN ↗
          &gt; he&#x27;s old.

          He&#x27;s only 82, and he&#x27;s got a billion-dollar nonprofit dedicated to keeping him healthy. Don&#x27;t count on him being on the way out.

          1. dgellow · · focus · HN ↗
            s&#x2F;healthy&#x2F;alive&#x2F;
          2. adrianN · · focus · HN ↗
            Even a billionaire doesn’t have many _good_ years left after 80.
            1. Iolaum · · focus · HN ↗
              not yet anyway
            2. johannes1234321 · · focus · HN ↗
              Well, for 30 years he is sponsoring research to prolonging his life: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Ellison_Medical_Foundation" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Ellison_Medical_Foundation
              1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

                [deleted]

              2. lazide · · focus · HN ↗
                It’ll likely just give him some new kind of cancer.
        3. jeltz · · focus · HN ↗
          What makes to possible collapse of Oracle worse is that they have an actual business too that is currently getting cannibalized to feed the AI projects. If coreweave fails that is bad but oracle failing will be worse.
          1. lotsofpulp · · focus · HN ↗
            Oracle failing will be a blessing for anyone not working at Oracle.
            1. jeltz · · focus · HN ↗
              I hate Oracle and many of their products and long term it may be a blessing but a lot of conpanies, government agencies, hospitals, etc rely on their diverse suite of enterprise software.
          2. peri-cl · · focus · HN ↗
            They can&#x27;t prioritize everything. They are called ORacle—not ANDacle
            1. blendo · · focus · HN ↗
              :-)
            2. mitxela · · focus · HN ↗
              by De Morgan&#x27;s law though they are NOT AND NOTacle.
              1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

                [deleted]

            3. Daishiman · · focus · HN ↗
              Best dad joke I&#x27;ve read on HN
          3. rm_-rf_slash · · focus · HN ↗
            Peoplesoft and its consequences have been a disaster for the modern workforce

            Back when I worked at a university, writing ETL scripts for Peoplesoft felt like I was carrying buckets of data by hand.

        4. chicken-stew · · focus · HN ↗
          Does that jeopardise the Warner Bros deal?
          1. [deleted] · · focus · HN ↗

            [deleted]

      2. gehsty · · focus · HN ↗
        Failing to get a permit is not an act of god, having to pay even when the site does t have power is poor milestone &#x2F; payment planning. Also it’s quite hard to request payment if the thing you are buying is not working (appreciate this quite complex here), but if the people who are delivering the data center are responsible for delivering the power, it feels like oracle would be within reason to not pay?
      3. bitexploder · · focus · HN ↗
        Ellison has more or less lived his entire life running Oracle (and his personal finances) completely over-leveraged, skating just barely ahead of disaster. I don&#x27;t see this ending any way other than SV picking apart its bones for pennies on the dollar.
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