President Donald Trump spoke on January 21 about a joint venture that would invest up to $500 billion in AI-related infrastructure through a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank.
The new entity, Stargate, will begin building data centers and generating the electricity needed to further develop Texas’ rapidly evolving artificial intelligence, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to reach $100 billion, and may reach five times this amount.
“It’s a lot of money and very high-quality people,” Mr. Trump said, adding that this is a “resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential” under his new administration.
Joining Mr. Trump after his inauguration in the White House were Masayoshi Son of SoftBank, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Larry Ellison of Oracle. The three credited Trump for helping make the project possible, even though construction has already begun and the project dates back to 2024.
“This will be the most important project of our era,” said Mr. Altman, CEO of OpenAI.
Mr. Ellison noted that data centers are already under construction, with 10 being built so far. The Oracle chief suggested that the project is also linked to digital health records and will facilitate the treatment of diseases such as cancer through the development of a customized vaccine.
“This is the beginning of a golden age,” Mr. Son said, referring to Mr. Trump’s statement that the United States would be in a “golden age” with his return to the White House.
Mr. Son, a billionaire residing in Japan, pledged last December to invest $100 billion in American projects over the next four years. He previously committed to $50 billion in new investments before Trump’s first term, which included a large stake in struggling office-sharing company WeWork.
While Mr. Trump has used similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there have already been expectations of massive construction of data centers and power plants needed to develop artificial intelligence, which holds the promise of increasing productivity through the automation of work. But also the risk of job displacement if poorly implemented.
Initial plans for Stargate go back to the Biden administration. Tech news outlet The Information first reported on the project in March 2024. OpenAI has long relied on Microsoft data centers to build its own AI systems, but has increasingly indicated an interest in building its own.
Planning and licensing for such projects “can be lengthy and complex, especially for energy infrastructure,” OpenAI wrote in a letter to the Biden administration’s Commerce Department last fall.
Other partners in the project include Microsoft, investor MGX, and chipmakers Arm and NVIDIA, according to separate statements from Oracle and OpenAI.
The push to build data centers predates Mr. Trump’s presidency. Last October, financial firm Blackstone estimated that the United States would see $1 trillion invested in data centers over five years, with another $1 trillion committed internationally.
These investment estimates suggest that a significant portion of the new capital will pass through Stargate as OpenAI has established itself as a leader in the sector with the launch in 2022 of ChatGPT, a chatbot that has captured the public’s imagination with its ability to answer complex questions and perform basic business. Tasks.
The White House has focused on facilitating the construction of new electricity generation in anticipation of the expansion of artificial intelligence, knowing that the United States is in a competitive race against China to develop technology that companies are increasingly adopting.
However, the regulatory outlook for AI remains somewhat uncertain, as Mr. Trump on January 20 rescinded a 2023 order signed by then-President Joe Biden to create safety standards and watermarks for AI-generated content, among other goals, in hopes of creating barriers protection. About the potential risks of technology to national security and economic well-being.
CBS News first reported that Mr. Trump would announce investment in artificial intelligence.
Trump supporter Elon Musk, who is worth more than $400 billion, was an early investor in OpenAI, but has since challenged its transition to for-profit status and created his own artificial intelligence company, xAI. Mr. Musk is also in charge of the “Government Efficiency Administration,” which Mr. Trump officially created on January 20 with the aim of cutting government spending.
Mr. Trump previously announced in January a $20 billion investment by Damac Properties in the United Arab Emirates to build AI-related data centers.
This story was reported by the Associated Press. AP writer Matt O’Brien contributed to this report.
