Trump announces creation of StarGate, $500 billion AI development project
Donald Trump (photo: Getty Images)
On Tuesday, January 21, US President Donald Trump announced that three leading companies will make significant investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The plan involves the creation of a new enterprise, according to Reuters, Bloomberg, and CNN.
According to media reports, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison appeared at the White House with President Trump and other technology company leaders to announce large private sector investments in AI infrastructure in the US.
During the event, Trump stated that the three companies would partner to create a joint venture called Stargate. Each company will initially invest $100 billion, with plans to invest up to $500 billion in the project over the coming years.
The new US president stated that Stargate will create physical and virtual infrastructure to support the next generation of artificial intelligence, including data centers across the country, calling these efforts the largest AI infrastructure project in history.
Ellison, for his part, the chairman of Oracle, stated that the group's first data processing project, spanning 1 million square feet, is already in the works in Texas.
CNN reports that AI industry leaders have been sounding alarms for months, warning that to realize their ambitions in artificial intelligence, more data centers, as well as chips, electricity, and water resources, will be needed in the coming years.
"I think this will be the most important project of this era. We wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Mr. President," said OpenAI Director Altman.
He had previously urged US officials to assist in creating this infrastructure to ensure that the US stays ahead of China in the AI arms race, considering AI is poised to influence everything from the economy to military capabilities.
CNN added that Oracle is one of the largest operators of data centers in the US. Meanwhile, SoftBank has the deep pockets necessary to fund the AI infrastructure expansion, which is expected to cost billions of dollars.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing our world today. This year, new technologies will not only execute commands but also adapt to our habits and make decisions on our behalf.
