US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a USD 500 Billion investment to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the US to create Jobs and Transform lives. Supported by ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Cloud services company Oracle and Japan's SoftBank, the Stargate Project aims to create 100,000 jobs, bolster American AI leadership, and advance innovations in sectors like healthcare and national security. OpenAI's chief executive Sam Altman, SoftBank's chief Masayoshi Son and Oracle's co-founder Larry Ellison attended the announcement.
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The Stargate Project
"Together these world-leading technology giants are announcing the formation of Stargate, I think you're going to hear a lot about it in the future. A new American company that "will invest USD 500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States," Trump said in remarks at the White House.
"President Trump has unveiled a USD 500 Billion American AI investment alongside tech leaders Larry Ellison, Masayoshi Son, and Sam Altman, set to create 100,000 American jobs almost immediately!" The White House said in a post on X on January 22, 2025.
Trump said Stargate will be building the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of advancements in AI, including the construction of "colossal data centers."
Edited excerpts from the Stargate announcement speech:
Use AI Power to treat Cancer
Speaking during the announcement, Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, said "AI holds incredible promise for all of us, for every American. We've actually been working with OpenAI for a while, and with Masa for a while. The data centers are currently under construction, with the first of them being built in Texas. Each building is half a million square feet. There are 10 buildings being constructed right now, but that will expand to 20 and to other locations beyond the Abilene location, which is our first site."
"The kinds of applications we’re building, to give you an idea—maybe the most charismatic and the ones that touch us all—are related to electronic health records (EHR). Not just maintaining electronic health records, but by looking at EHRs, enabling doctors to better understand the conditions of their patients, and being able to provide much better healthcare plans. For example, a doctor in India would be able to see how a doctor at Memorial Sloan Kettering or a doctor at Stanford would treat the patient," Ellison explained.
"We actually provide all of that information, all of that guidance, to doctors treating cancer patients or patients with other kinds of diseases, made possible by AI. I'm not going to take much more time. I'll pass it over to Masa (Masayoshi Son), but this is a very exciting program for Oracle to be part of," Ellison added.
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Golden Age of America
"...last time we promised we would invest USD 100 billion, and you told me, 'Oh Masa, go for USD 200 billion.' Now I came back with USD 500 billion because, as you said yesterday, this is the beginning of the Golden Age of America. This is one great example. I think we wouldn't have decided to do this otherwise. This is the beginning of a golden age. We wouldn't have decided unless you won, and yesterday we agreed and signed to make this happen because of this day," SoftBank's Masayoshi Son said.
"So, we would make this happen. We would immediately start deploying USD 100 billion, with the goal of making USD 500 billion within the next four years—within your term," Masayoshi Son added. He continued, "We are very, very excited to do this. Our partners, of course SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and, additionally, investing partner MGX. On top of that, we have technology partner Nvidia, and of course, Microsoft has been very supportive of Sam (Sam Altman) and continues to support all of our success."
Improve People's Lives
"This is not just about business. As Larry said, this will improve people's lives and help solve many difficult problems that otherwise couldn’t have been addressed without the power of AI. I think AGI is coming very, very soon, and even then, that's not the end goal. After that, artificial Super Intelligence will come to solve issues that mankind never ever have thought that we could solve. This is the beginning of our Golden Age," Masayoshi Son concluded.
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"I don't have too much to add. I'm thrilled we get to do this in the United States of America. I think this will be the most important project of this era. And, as Masa said, for AGI to get built here, to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, and to create a new industry centered here," Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said.
The President asked how AI would help with problems like medical research, cancer, various diseases and other problems. Sam Altman, directing the question to the other members present, responded, "I believe that as this technology progresses, we will see diseases being cured at an unprecedented rate. We will be amazed at how quickly we're curing cancers, heart disease, and more. What this will do for the ability to deliver very high-quality healthcare at lower costs—and really cure diseases at a rapid rapid rate—will be among the most important things this technology does."
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Working on Cancer Vaccines
Larry Ellison then elaborated, saying, "One of the most exciting things we're working on—using the tools that Sam and Masa are providing—is related to cancer vaccines. It's very interesting. Early cancer diagnosis is possible because cancer tumours shed small fragments into the bloodstream. You can detect these early through a blood test. Using AI to look at the blood test, you can identify the cancers that are truly life-threatening. AI can enable cancer diagnosis through something as simple as a blood test."
"Beyond that, once we gene-sequence a cancer tumour, we can design a personalised vaccine for each individual patient to target their specific cancer. This mRNA vaccine can be made robotically using AI in about 48 hours," Oracle's Ellison explained.
"So imagine early cancer detection and the development of a personalised cancer vaccine for your specific cancer, ready within 48 hours. This is the promise of AI and the promise of the future," he added.
The USD 500 billion Stargate project is in addition to a separate pledge of USD 100-200 billion that Masa mentioned earlier. There's also a USD 20 billion contribution from Damac, which is great, and many others that are joining us, Trump concluded.
OpenAI Stargate Project Announcement
Separately, OpenAI announced the Stargate Project on social platform X, saying it is a new company that intends to invest USD 500 billion over the next four years to build new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States.
"We will begin deploying USD 100 billion immediately. This infrastructure will secure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate massive economic benefit for the entire world. 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 said.
The initial equity funders in Stargate are SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX. SoftBank and OpenAI are the lead partners for Stargate, with SoftBank having financial responsibility and OpenAI having operational responsibility. Masayoshi Son will be the chairman, the official release said.
Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and OpenAI are the key initial technology partners. The buildout is currently underway, starting in Texas. OpenAI said they are evaluating potential sites across the country for more campuses as they finalise definite agreements.
As part of Stargate, Oracle, Nvidia, and OpenAI will closely collaborate to build and operate this computing system. "This builds on a deep collaboration between OpenAI and Nvidia going back to 2016 and a newer partnership between OpenAI and Oracle," OpenAI said.
This also builds on the existing OpenAI partnership with Microsoft. OpenAI said it will continue to increase its consumption of Azure as OpenAI continues its work with Microsoft with this additional compute to train leading models and deliver products and services.
"All of us look forward to continuing to build and develop AI—and in particular AGI—for the benefit of all of humanity. 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," OpenAI concluded.
Elon Musk's Counter to Announcement
Replying to OpenAI's post on X, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, countered on Wednesday, saying, "They don't actually have the money."
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Microsoft and OpenAI Agreement
Additionally, Microsoft said on Tuesday that it has changed some key terms of a deal with OpenAI after the ChatGPT creator announced a joint venture with Oracle and Japan's SoftBank Group.
Microsoft said the announcement is complementary to what the two companies have been working on together since 2019. Microsoft has had arrangements with OpenAI that gave the company the exclusive right to build new computing infrastructure for OpenAI.
In a blog post, Microsoft said it retains rights to OpenAI's intellectual property, including models and infrastructure, integrating them into products like Copilot. This means Microsoft customers have access to state-of-the-art AI tailored to their needs.
The OpenAI API remains exclusive to Azure, runs on Azure, and is also available through the Azure OpenAI Service. This agreement ensures customers can access OpenAI's AI models through Microsoft's ecosystem and directly from OpenAI, according to Microsoft.
"Microsoft and OpenAI have revenue sharing agreements that flow both ways, ensuring that both companies benefit from increased use of new and existing models," it said.
Additionally, Microsoft said it remains a major investor in OpenAI, providing funding and capacity to support their advancements and, in turn, benefiting from their growth in valuation.
OpenAI recently made a new, large Azure commitment that will continue to support all OpenAI products as well as training.
Microsoft concluded by saying it has "approved OpenAI's ability to build additional capacity, primarily for research and training of models."
