US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a major investment to build infrastructure for artificial intelligence (AI) led by Japan’s Softbank Group Corp, cloud giant Oracle Corp and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
The Stargate AI joint venture “will invest US$500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States,” Trump said in remarks at the White House.
“This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential,” he said, a day after his swearing-in for a second term.
Photo: AFP
OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman, Softbank chief executive officer Masayoshi Son and Oracle founder Larry Ellison attended the announcement.
The companies are committed to investing an initial US$100 billion and up to US$500 billion over the next four years in the project, Son said.
The venture comes as big technology players are scrambling to meet AI’s voracious computing needs, as well as find the electricity necessary to expand the new technology.
Trump said Stargate would be building the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of advancements in AI, including the construction of “colossal data centers.”
OpenAI later said on social media that the project “will not only support the reindustrialization of the United States but also provide a strategic capability to protect the national security of America and its allies.”
Softbank and OpenAI are the lead partners for Stargate, with Softbank having financial responsibility and OpenAI having operational responsibility, the post said.
MGX, a technology fund from the United Arab Emirates, is a fourth investor, while Arm Holdings PLC, Microsoft Corp, Nvidia Corp, Oracle and OpenAI are the key initial technology partners, it added.
“Build-out is currently underway, starting in Texas, and we are evaluating potential sites across the country for more campuses as we finalize definitive agreements,” OpenAI said.
Softbank shares soared more than 10 percent — leading Tokyo-listed chipmakers higher — after the announcement.
News of the project comes a day after Trump’s inauguration ceremony was attended by prominent technology chiefs, including Apple Inc chief executive officer Tim Cook, Google chief executive officer Sundar Pichai, Meta Platforms Inc chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos.
Trump later on Monday rescinded an executive order from former US president Joe Biden that established oversight measures for companies developing powerful AI models.
Its repeal leaves the US, home to most of the world’s most impactful AI technology, without nationwide AI development guidelines, even if individual states are pursuing their own measures.
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