US President Donald Trump has announced a $500 billion private-led artificial intelligence infrastructure investment called “Stargate,” which aims to build AI data centers across the country.
Trump said in a Jan. 21 press conference that the Stargate project’s initial equity funders are ChatGPT creator OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle, and touted that the project would create “over 100,000 American jobs.”
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son explained that $100 billion would be deployed immediately.
AI investment firm MGX is also involved, while Microsoft, Nvidia and Arm were also listed as key initial technology partners, according to a statement by OpenAI, which noted that the remaining $400 billion would be distributed over the next four years.
“What we want to do is we want to keep [AI innovation] in this country,” Trump said, flanked by OpenAI boss Sam Altman, Oracle technology chief Larry Ellison and SoftBank’s Son.
“China is a competitor, others are competitors. We want it to be in this country, and we’re making it available,” he said, adding that he would make it possible through emergency declarations.
OpenAI said that Stargate data centers are already being built in Oracle’s Abilene, Texas, facility and that it was evaluating other potential sites to expand into.
Oracle’s Ellison said a range of applications would stem from Stargate, such as improving maintenance and analysis of electronic health records, allowing for far better healthcare plans than currently possible.
The Stargate announcement also builds on OpenAI’s existing partnership with Microsoft, which leverages Microsoft’s Azure for cloud computing services.
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“This project will not only support the re-industrialization of the United States but also provide a strategic capability to protect the national security of America and its allies,” OpenAI added.
OpenAI hopes Stargate will push progress for artificial general intelligence.
“We believe that this new step is critical on the path, and will enable creative people to figure out how to use AI to elevate humanity.”
Son added: “After that, Artificial Superintelligence will come to solve the issues that mankind would have never ever have thought, that we could solve.”
Stargate’s announcement comes nearly 12 months after OpenAI’s Altman revealed his ambitious plan to raise $7 trillion to accelerate chip production.
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