Donald Trump has unveiled what he called “the largest AI infrastructure project in history” – a $500bn joint venture between OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank that aims to build a network of data centres across the US.
The new partnership, dubbed Stargate, aims to construct essential data centers and computing infrastructure needed to power artificial intelligence development and, according to Trump, create over 100,000 American jobs “almost immediately”.
The launch marks one of Trump’s first major business initiatives since returning to office and comes as the US looks for new ways to maintain an edge against China in AI capabilities.
“China is a competitor and others are competitors. We want it to be in this country,” Trump said during the White House announcement, flanked by Oracle’s Larry Ellison, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
The president indicated he would use emergency declarations to expedite the project’s development, particularly regarding energy infrastructure.