Donald Trump, before and after last November's election, promised us big things. This is a big thing: On Tuesday, the president announced a $500 billion artificial intelligence (AI) initiative in partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, and the Japanese company SoftBank.
President Trump announced Tuesday billions of dollars in private sector investment to build artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States. The project is to be dubbed Stargate (Not Skynet).
OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle are planning a joint venture called Stargate, Trump said in a White House briefing.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son joined Trump for the announcement, along with Sam Altman of OpenAI and Larry Ellison of Oracle.
"What we want to do is we want to keep it in this country," Trump said. "China is a competitor, others are competitors. We want to be in this country, and we're making it available. I'm gonna help a lot through emergency declarations, because we have an emergency, we have to get this stuff built. So they have to produce a lot of electricity. And we'll make it possible for them to get this production done easily, at their own plants if they want."
Executives from the companies are expected to commit $500 billion into Stargate over the next four years. Details of the new partnership were not immediately provided.
The group touted many of the benefits expected to accrue from the development of the AI project, including far-reaching implications for the diagnosis and treatment of cancers and other ailments.
Data centers are already being built:
In the briefing, Ellison said 10 data centers for the project were already under construction in Texas, and that more were planned. Sources previously told CBS News that Stargate would start with a data center project in Texas, and eventually expand to other states.
"AI holds incredible promise for all of us, for every American," Ellison told reporters.
Trump alleged the venture would create "over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately."
Added Altman, "I think this will be the most important project of this era."
We previously reported that the incoming Trump administration was planning such an AI infrastructure move, but this seems a much larger project than was announced before Trump re-assumed office.
Previously on RedState: Trump Holds Post-Certification Press Conference, Announces Huge New Investment in Data Centers
WINNING: Donald Trump, SoftBank CEO Announce Huge Deal - and Hundreds of Thousands of American Jobs
President Trump announced the initiative at the White House, including the amount of investment — $500 billion — and the business partners appearing, including Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp, Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, and Larry Ellison, Executive Charmain of Oracle.
🚨 BREAKING: President Donald J. Trump announces the formation of 'Stargate,' the largest AI infrastructure project in American history
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025
This project will invest $500 BILLION into the U.S. economy and create over 100,000 American jobs.
PROMISES MADE. PROMISES KEPT. pic.twitter.com/xjkPLO6Oj0
After the President's announcement, all three tech leaders made some brief remarks:
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son on his role in the joint $500 billion investment in AI infrastructure under President Trump: "THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF THE GOLDEN AGE!" pic.twitter.com/aBPXSUjhxa
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025
WATCH: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's remarks with President Trump at the White House on the $500 billion AI project 'Stargate':
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025
"Thank you, Mr. President, we certainly couldn't do this without you... This is a very exciting program for Oracle to be a part of." pic.twitter.com/LX51psY3gJ
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: "I'm thrilled we get to do this in the United States of America. I think this will be the most important project of this era... to create hundreds of thousands of jobs... We wouldn't be able to do this without you, Mr. President." pic.twitter.com/4rdZc6Zqlw
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025
The project is reportedly expected to create at least 100,000 American jobs. In the initial announcement with SoftBank's Masayoshi Son, President Trump jokingly asked the SoftBank CEO to double his company's investment from $100 billion to $200 billion; in today's announcement, Masayoshi-san noted that the total investment in the project is now $500 billion.
AI has enormous potential and may well be the next phase of the information revolution. Having the capability to process and analyze large amounts of information much more quickly than humans can do could yield great results, but at present, AI cannot create or extrapolate; like any computer system, an AI system, at least for now, can only reshuffle data that has been programmed into it.
The construction and implementation of Stargate is the first major infrastructure announcement from the Trump administration. Smart money says it won't be the last.
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