US tech giants teaming up to invest up to $500B into AI

On X, Chatgpt creator OpenAI said they will begin investing $100 billion immediately in the project, called Stargate, adding: "This infrastructure will secure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate massive economic benefit for the entire world."

"This project will not only support the re-industrialization of the United States but also provide a strategic capability to protect the national security of America and its allies," it added.

OpenAI's announcement followed US President Donald Trump touting the project on Tuesday, the first full day of his return to the White House.

"These world-leading technology giants are announcing the formation of Stargate … a new American company that will (create) over 100,000 American jobs," Trump said in the White House, flanked by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

Especially since his election last November, Trump and tech firms have worked more and more in sync, with Trump eager to show that his administration is more business-friendly than Joe Biden, whose presidency ended on Monday.

MGX, SoftBank and OpenAI will be the lead partners for Stargate, with SoftBank having financial responsibility and OpenAI having operational responsibility. Son will be the chairman, according to the statement.

Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI will also be the key initial technology partners for this project.

"The buildout is currently underway, starting in Texas, and we are evaluating potential sites across the country for more campuses as we finalize definitive agreements," said the statement on X.

To develop and run the AI system, Oracle, NVIDIA, and OpenAI will work together. This expands upon OpenAI's close connection with NVIDIA, which dates back to 2016, as well as a more recent collaboration with Oracle, according to the statement.

"All of us look forward to continuing to build and develop AI – and in particular AGI (artificial general intelligence) – for the benefit of all of humanity. We believe that this new step is critical on the path, and will enable creative people to figure out how to use AI to elevate humanity," OpenAI added.

But billionaire businessman Elon Musk, a key ally of Trump, sounded a sour note on the venture, saying: "They don't actually have the money. SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”