The key players behind Stargate, Trump’s $500 billion AI project
US President Donald Trump has announced an “at least” $US500 billion ($799 billion) artificial intelligence project — Stargate.
The venture, to be led by Japanese giant Softbank, cloud giant Oracle and ChatGPT-creator OpenAI, will create an AI infrastructure for the United States.
“This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential,” Mr Trump said.
Here’s what we know.
What is Stargate?
Mr Trump said Stargate would build the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of advancements in AI, including the construction of “colossal data centres”.
Twenty would be built, each half-a-million square feet (46,452 square metres) in size, according to Oracle’s Larry Ellison.
Their project was committed to invest an initial $US100 billion and up to $US500 billion over the next four years in the project, Softbank’s Masayoshi Son said during a media conference.
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OpenAI said in a statement the Stargate Project would “secure American leadership in AI”.
“This infrastructure will … create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate massive economic benefit for the entire world,” they said.
“All of us look forward to continuing to build and develop AI … for the benefit of all humanity.”
Construction is already underway in Texas, according to OpenAI.
AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for specialised data centres that enable tech companies to link thousands of chips together in clusters.
“They have to produce a lot of electricity, and we’ll make it possible for them to get that production done very easily at their own plants if they want,” Mr Trump said.
As US power consumption rises from AI data centres and the electrification of buildings and transportation, about half of the country is at increased risk of power supply shortfalls during the next decade, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said in December.
The venture comes as big tech players are scrambling to meet AI’s voracious computing needs, as well as find the electric power necessary to expand the new technology.
Multiple tech chiefs had front row seating at Mr Trump’s inauguration ceremony, including Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon leader Jeff Bezos.
Mr Trump has also rescinded an executive order from his predecessor Joe Biden that established oversight measures for companies developing powerful AI models.
The move could leave many minority groups at risk, according to Associate Professor Dana Mckay from RMIT’s School of Computing Technologies.
“The AI safety legislation was designed to prevent common AI harms, including biased decision-making, invasion of privacy, inaccurate information and loss of income,” she said.
“The removal of protections against these harms, and the investment Trump has promised means AI is likely to develop very fast in the US, but in directions that benefit only a small segment of society.”
Which companies are involved in Stargate?
OpenAI
The American artificial intelligence research organisation is best known as the creator of ChatGPT.
Founded in 2015 and based in California, it also created the DALL-E image generation tool.
According to its website, its mission is to “ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity”.
It has previously faced criticism for a lack of technical transparency and copyright infringement.
Multiple authors, including George R R Martin, John Grisham, Paul Tremblay and Jodi Picoult, launched a class action lawsuit against OpenAI in 2023, accusing it of using their work to train its programs.
In December, a former OpenAI researcher said almost half of the OpenAI staff focused on reviewing the long-term risks of AI had left the company.
Former employee Daniel Kokotajlo told Fortune magazine there had been a slow exodus in the past year of those hired to develop safe AI techniques.
“People who are primarily focused on thinking about [artificial general intelligence] safety and preparedness are being increasingly marginalised,” he told the outlet.
SoftBank
The Japanese multinational investment company, based in Tokyo, has stakes in Yahoo! Japan and messaging app LINE, as well as offering mobile services and investing in AI and other tech.
It was founded in 1981 and went public in 1994.
Over the years it has invested in robotics companies and acquired large stakes of different streaming services, game development and telecommunications companies.
In 2014, it unveiled the world’s first “emotional” humanoid robot, designed to communicate and perform tasks for families.
According to Pitchbook, Softbank’s Vision Fund has invested in at least nine different AI companies in the last year.
Oracle
An American computer technology company, Oracle was founded in 1977 and is based in Austin, Texas.
According to its website, it is the “world’s largest database management company” and made $US53 billion ($84.59 billion) in revenue in the 2023-24 financial year.
The company designs and sells software and hardware products, with a focus on offering cloud infrastructure.
In February 2024, it announced it was “integrating generative AI across its portfolio of cloud applications”.
But who’s running SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle?
The three men heading up these companies have a combined net worth, according to Forbes, of more than $401 billion.
All three attended the inauguration earlier this week and all three thanked Mr Trump following the announcement.
“We couldn’t have done this without you,” said Sam Altman.
Sam Altman
Sam Altman was already a successful figure in the Silicon Valley tech scene and a billionaire when he was brought in as a founder of OpenAI in 2015.
According to Forbes, he has a net worth of $US1.2 billion ($1.91 billion).
In 2005, he dropped out of Stanford University to co-found the social networking app Loopt, which he sold in 2012.
He went on to found a venture capital firm and several other startups.
In 2023, he was briefly fired as chief executive after other members of the board said he was “not consistently candid” in his communication.
He was re-hired just days later.
In December, it was announced by OpenAI that Mr Altman planned to donate $US1 million ($1.6 million) to support the incoming Trump administration.
Other tech companies, including Meta and Amazon, also contributed to Mr Trump’s inauguration fund.
In a statement to NPR, Mr Altman said: “President Trump will lead our country into the age of AI, and I am eager to support his efforts to ensure America stays ahead.”
Masayoshi Son
Masayoshi Son founded and runs Softbank Group, and according to Forbes has a net worth of $US33.5 billion ($53.47 billion).
At the height of the dot-com bubble, Mr Son was briefly the richest man in the world before losing more money than any individual in history at the time.
When the bubble burst in 2000, he reportedly lost more than $US59 billion ($94.19 billion) overnight.
Last year, he ranked 55th on Forbes’s World’s Billionaires list.
He was also included in Time’s 2024 100 Most Influential People in AI.
On Stargate, Mr Son told Mr Trump: “We wouldn’t have decided to do this unless you won.”
Larry Ellison
Larry Ellison is the chairman, chief technology officer and co-founder of Oracle.
According to Forbes, Mr Ellison has a net worth of $US216.9 billion ($346.35 billion).
He was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine last year.
Mr Ellison bought almost all of the Hawaiian island Lanai for $US300 million ($479.04 million) in 2012, and moved there permanently in 2020.
He also sat on the board of directors for Elon Musk’s Tesla between December 2018 and August 2022, owning 45 million shares in the company before he stepped down.
ABC/AFP/Reuters
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