With the blessing of Donald Trump, a new era in Artificial Intelligence has begun in the United States. Three tech giants in pursuit of global dominance in AI have united to establish the world’s largest AI project. It will be called ‘Stargate’. Donald Trump made this announcement in a special press conference at the White House. However, Elon Musk has expressed his doubts over the mega project.
The team that will lead the ambitious project includes Sam Altman, founder of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. Nvidia is also reportedly in talks on a possible partnership in the project, however, there is no confirmation from their side yet.
Stargate launched at White House
The CEOs of the three companies joined President Donald Trump at the White House to officially launch the Stargate project. Announcing it, President Trump said it would be “the largest AI infrastructure project in history”, with an investment of “at least $500 billion”, of which the first tranche would be $100 billion. The President further said that the project will create more than 100,000 jobs in the US.
Stargate will “build the physical and virtual infrastructure to power the next generation of AI,” he said. Additionally, Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison said that Stargate’s first million-square-foot data center is already under construction in Texas.
Elon Musk’s ‘FOMO’ moment?
Interestingly, Donald Trump’s biggest supporter and confidant Elon Musk has been kept out of this project. Shortly after the White House press conference ended, Elon Musk posted on his social media platform
Stargate project announced
The Stargate Project is a new company that intends to invest $500 billion over the next four years to build new AI infrastructure for OpenAI in the United States. We will immediately begin deployment of $100 billion. This will secure the infrastructure…
– OpenAI (@OpenAI) 21 January 2025
Responding directly to OpenAI’s post on X about Stargate, Elon Musk wrote, “They don’t actually have the money ($500 billion).” In another post he said, “SoftBank has secured less than $10 billion. I have it on good authority.”
SoftBank has reserved less than $10B. I have it on good authority.
– Elon Musk (@elonmusk) 22 January 2025
He also interacted with X users who made fun of the project. One user wrote, “OpenAI and Microsoft are done”, suggesting differences of opinion between the two tech partners, to which Elon Musk responded, “Feels like so”.
The chairman of Tesla, SpaceX, X, who has his own AI firm ‘XAI’ – competes directly with Sam Altman’s OpenAI.
Elon Musk vs. Sam Altman – From OpenAI Co-Founders to AI Nemesis
It is also interesting to know that Elon Musk was one of the co-founders of OpenAI when it started in 2015. Being a non-profit, Elon Musk even funded the project when it needed money. But Musk left OpenAi in 2018.
In recent times, relations between Elon Musk and Sam Altman/OpenAI have soured considerably, with the world’s richest man suing the ChatGPS creator. Musk has filed several lawsuits against OpenAI and Sam Altman, claiming that the ChatGPIT-maker violates licensing agreements and anti-trust laws.
In one of his lawsuits, Elon Musk has even claimed that OpenAI and Sam Altman have manipulated him from the very beginning – when they ‘enticed’ him to become a co-founder of the company.
In his latest lawsuit against tech partner turned arch rival Sam Altman, Musk claims the OpenAI case is a “textbook story of altruism versus greed.” Musk further claimed that Sam Altman and his partners defrauded Musk by turning the company from a non-profit to a massive for-profit enterprise. “The fraud and deception are of Shakespearean proportions,” Musk’s lawsuit says.
OpenAI has denied these allegations, however, it is true that OpenAI had recently announced that it would be changing from a ‘non-profit’ to a ‘for-profit’ organization – a move which was met with much criticism.
Sam Altman thanks President Trump
Sam Altman has now announced that Stargate will strengthen America’s position as a global leader in AI technology. Thanking President Donald Trump at a White House press conference, Mr. Altman said, “I think this will be the most important project of this era, and we couldn’t do it without you, Mr. President.”
Cloud giant Oracle, one of Stargate’s partners, has about $11 billion in cash and securities, according to the Wall Street Journal. SoftBank, the third partner in the project, has about $30 billion. OpenAI, which has been running on borrowed funds until now, is a loss-making organization – but at the press conference the three companies pledged to invest an initial $100 billion in the Stargate project and at least $500 billion over the next four years. Expressed commitment.
