Trump Joins SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle Leaders for $500B ‘Stargate’ Project, But Elon Musk Is Skeptical

On Jan. 21, President Donald Trump made the official announcement of a massive project related to U.S. artificial intelligence infrastructure being launched in conjunction with several private sector partners — the so-called “Stargate” project, as CBS News reported.

During a briefing held at the White House, Trump was joined by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Oracle CTO and co-founder Larry Ellison. The executives and president spoke of the project, and the companies represented indicated a joint investment of approximately $500 billion over the next four years.

Trump Signals America-First Motivations, Says Stargate Project Would Create 100,000 Jobs ‘Almost Immediately’

President Trump was enthusiastic about the prospects of the Stargate project, stating that it would create “over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately.” He also spoke to the notion of beating international competitors to the punch in the AI space.

“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.”

Oracle’s Ellison outlined that 10 data centers related to the project were already under construction in Texas, with more in the works. Meanwhile, Altman called the project the most important of its era, and all three executives gestured toward the positive implications that burgeoning AI technology could have on the future of healthcare.

“I believe that as this technology progresses, we will see diseases get cured at an unprecedented rate,” Altman said.

Stargate Project Also Involves Microsoft, NVIDIA

In a press release from OpenAI, it was revealed that beyond SoftBank and Oracle, MGX, Arm, Microsoft, and NVIDIA would also be rounding out the star-studded team behind the Stargate project.

“The initial equity funders in Stargate are SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX. SoftBank and OpenAI are the lead partners for Stargate, with SoftBank having financial responsibility and OpenAI having operational responsibility. Masayoshi Son will be the chairman,” the press release stated.

“Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI are the key initial technology partners. 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,” it continued.

Elon Musk Suggests SoftBank Doesn’t Actually Have the Money To Back Stargate

Not everyone was impressed with the news, however.

Tesla CEO and Trump ally Elon Musk took to X to offer concise skepticism over the deal’s details.

“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk posted, following up this message with a second claim. “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”

Altman replied to Musk on X, stating, “Wrong, as you surely know,” before asking if he wanted to visit the first site that’s already underway.

wrong, as you surely know.

want to come visit the first site already under way?

this is great for the country. i realize what is great for the country isn't always what's optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you'll mostly put 🇺🇸 first.

— Sam Altman (@sama) January 22, 2025