The initiative will ensure US dominance in the sector and create 100,000 jobs, the president has claimed.
US President Donald Trump has announced the launch of a new initiative set to invest up to $500 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Project Stargate, unveiled on Tuesday, is a collaboration between US tech giants OpenAI and Oracle, and Japanese investment firm SoftBank.
Trump presented Stargate alongside the heads of the three main corporate partners, which have pledged $100 billion in investment, with an additional $400 billion targeted over the next four years.
He described the project as a “monumental undertaking” and a “resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential under a new president” which will ensure US leadership of the AI tech race against China and others.
Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said the first Stargate data centers are already under construction in Texas. Up to 20, each spanning half a million square feet (46,000 square metres), are planned to support the heavy computational demands of AI systems. Trump suggested that the project would create over 100,000 jobs across the United States.
OpenAI, creator of highly popular AI model ChatGPT, revealed additional details in a statement, naming Arm, Microsoft and NVIDIA as “key initial technology partners”.
In 2023, news website The Information reported that Microsoft and OpenAI were collaborating on an AI supercomputer called ‘Stargate’, estimated to cost $100 billion. It was not immediately clear if that project is connected to the new Stargate initiative announced by Trump.
OpenAI said that together with its partners it aims to “to build and develop AI – and in particular AGI – for the benefit of all of humanity,” using the acronym for Artificial General Intelligence.
Artificial general intelligence (AGI) refers to a yet-to-be-achieved type of AI capable of performing a wide range of tasks, unlike the specialised models that exist today. Tech experts have warned that the technology has huge transformative potential, but also could pose a risk to human civilisation.
After taking office on Monday, Trump reversed an executive order issued by former President Joe Biden in 2023 that aimed to mitigate AI risks.
