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U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled a $500 billion private sector initiative to boost artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States, aiming to outpace global competitors. The joint venture, Stargate, involves OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle, with $100 billion allocated for immediate deployment and the remainder over four years. The project is expected to create over 100,000 jobs.
Key executives, including SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, joined Trump at the White House to announce the plan. Ellison revealed that 20 data centers, each half a million square feet, are already under construction in Texas. These facilities will support AI advancements in areas such as healthcare, helping doctors analyze electronic health records.
Altman and Son credited Trump for enabling the initiative, highlighting its role in advancing artificial general intelligence. The announcement follows the reversal of former President Joe Biden’s executive order aimed at regulating AI risks.
AI's growing demand for power-intensive data centers poses challenges to the U.S. energy grid, with half the country at risk of power shortages in the next decade. Trump pledged to streamline electricity production for these facilities, ensuring operational efficiency.
This initiative builds on a previously reported $100 billion AI supercomputer project, also named Stargate, planned by OpenAI and Microsoft for 2028. The AI boom, driven by ChatGPT's 2022 launch, has spurred companies across industries to integrate AI into their offerings.
Oracle shares jumped 7% on the news, with Nvidia, Arm Holdings, and Dell also experiencing gains, reflecting investor confidence in AI infrastructure development.
