Trump announces up to $500 billion investment to build AI infrastructure

President Trump on Tuesday announced the creation of a new project to invest up to $500 billion in building the infrastructure needed for artificial intelligence (AI) development over his second term.

The joint project, called Stargate, involves OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle and will focus on projects related to the development of AI. It will invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure with the goal to create over 100,000 U.S. jobs. 

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chief technology officer, joined Trump for the announcement at the White House.  

The president called it the "greatest AI infrastructure project by far in history" while nodding to the foreign competition the U.S. faces regarding emerging technology. 

“It will ensure the future of technology. What we want to do, we want to keep it in this country—China's a competitor, others are a competitor,” Trump said. 

Construction of data centers, which he said will employ "a lot of people," and campuses are "currently being scouted nationwide," the president said. Ellison later said that data centers are already under construction for Oracle in Texas. 

“This is the beginning of the golden age,” Masayoshi said, referencing Trump’s line from his inauguration speech the day before. 

“This is not just for business, this will help people’s life. This will help solving many, many issues... with the power of AI,” the Softbank leader added. 

Altman later said he is "thrilled we get to do this in the United States of America" and added that he thinks the companies wouldn't be able to do this without Trump. 

“The fact that we get to do this in the United States is, I think, wonderful,” Altman added. 

The newer AI technology, like OpenAI's ChatGPT chatbot, requires an unprecedented amount of power to build and maintain the tools.  

According to a Department of Energy (DOE) report last month, the energy demand for U.S. data centers tripled over the past 10 years and is expected to double or triple by 2028.  

Data centers are also projected to consume between more than six to 12 percent of the U.S.'s electricity by 2028, according to the report. 

Masayoshi predicted generative AI, which is a type of AI that can create content based on prompts, is "coming very soon" and hinted at artificial superintelligence, a hypothetical form of AI that surpasses human intelligence in the future. 

The announcement is the latest sign Silicon Valley has managed to make headways with Trump, who was a longtime critic of the traditionally deep blue industry.  

Altman was at Trump’s inauguration Monday, along with several other tech leaders who met with the president in the weeks leading up to his reelection.  

The partnership with the president is a significant shift for Altman, who was a longtime Democratic donor. He personally dished out $1 million in personal money to Trump’s inaugural fund.  

Trump called Altman the “leading expert” on AI and described the group of tech leaders as a “massive group of talent and money.”  

Masayoshi joined Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in December for an announcement that his company planned to invest $100 billion in the U.S. over the next four years. At the time, Trump pressed the SoftBank leader to double his investment to $200 billion on the spot. Masayoshi laughed and said he would “try to make it happen.”  

“Now I come back with $500,” Masayoshi said on Tuesday at the White House. 

When CBS first reported that Oracle, OpenAI and Softbank were joining in the investment Trump was set to announce later that day, Oracle’s stock jumped by over 7 percent on the day. Oracle CEO Safra Catz joined the 2016 Trump transition team, Reuters reported at the time.  

As part of his first actions as president Monday night, Trump repealed former President Biden's 2023 executive order on AI, which focused on taking advantage of the advancing technology but still managing its risks. 

The repeal has left the regulation and research of AI somewhat in a gray area, with several tech advocacy groups calling for clearer guidelines from the Trump White House.  

The investment may come as a surprise to some in the tech world who predicted late last year the president could cut back on federal funding for the emerging tech. 

It comes just one week after Biden signed an executive order to boost the construction of new data centers and the accompanying energy infrastructure needed to power the development of AI.