US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced private sector investment of up to $500 billion to fund artificial intelligence infrastructure. OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle plan a Texas-based joint venture called Stargate, committing $100 billion initially and up to $500 billion over the next four years.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Oracle's Larry Ellison joined Trump at the White House for the launch. The announcement on Trump's second day in office follows the rollback of former President Joe Biden's executive order on AI, intended to reduce risks to consumers, workers, and national security.
AI demands immense computing power, driving the need for specialized data centers to link thousands of chips together. As U.S. power consumption rises from AI data centers, about half of the country faces increased risk of power supply shortfalls in the next decade, according to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.
Despite promises during his first term, Trump never delivered on a large infrastructure investment. Oracle shares surged 7% on the news, with Nvidia, Arm Holdings, and Dell shares also rising. The Information reported plans for an AI supercomputer project called Stargate set to launch in 2028.
Investment in AI has grown since OpenAI's ChatGPT launch in 2022, as companies seek to integrate artificial intelligence into their products and services across sectors.