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President Donald Trump has announced a new $500 billion joint venture with leading tech companies to build AI infrastructure across the United States.
What’s going on: In an announcement yesterday at the White House, President Trump, along with tech leaders Sam Altman (OpenAI), Masayoshi Son (SoftBank), and Larry Ellison (Oracle), unveiled Stargate, a $500 billion joint venture that seeks to develop AI infrastructure across the United States. The initiative, which begins with an initial $100 billion investment, aims to construct data centers and advanced energy systems necessary to power the next generation of AI technology. The project is expected to create over 100,000 American jobs in areas such as construction, technology, and energy production. Trump called it the “greatest AI infrastructure project in history” and stressed its importance in keeping AI innovation within US borders amidst global competition, particularly with China.

The project will rely on collaboration between its founding companies—OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank—as well as partnerships with other key players like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Arm, to secure funding, infrastructure, and technical expertise. Sam Altman described it as “the most important project of this era,” citing its ability to revolutionize healthcare by enabling breakthroughs such as curing diseases and developing personalized vaccines. Larry Ellison highlighted the rapid progress already underway, with 10 data centers under construction in Texas and plans for more. Masayoshi Son called this the “beginning of a golden age” for AI and emphasized its potential to solve pressing global issues.
Criticism from Musk: Shortly after the announcement, Elon Musk criticized the Stargate venture on X, claiming that the project’s financial backing was overstated. Musk alleged that SoftBank had “well under $10 billion secured” and stated, “They don’t actually have the money,” casting doubt on the credibility of the $500 billion investment. This prompted a response from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who refuted Musk’s claims as “wrong” and invited him to visit the first Stargate site already under construction in Texas.
Altman added a pointed remark, saying, “I realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you’ll mostly put America first.”
Currently, SoftBank has $24.3 billion cash reserves, Oracle is sitting on roughly $11 billion on hand, and MGX has $100 billion in capital commitments. Financial analysts speaking on CNBC indicated that the companies involved could “easily” acquire additional funding.