Some of the biggest names in tech came together this week to announce “Stargate,” a project they say will receive $500 billion in investment for US-based artificial intelligence infrastructure. The joint venture, spearheaded by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, aims to rapidly build out colossal new data centers crucial to future AI development. It will also prop-up new electricity plants needed to power these notoriously energy-intensive AI models.
Stargate already has the blessing of newly-inaugurated president Donald Trump who this week said he has plans to “unleash” the US fossil fuel industry. Looser regulations on oil and gas extraction will make fossil fuels the obvious, cheapest choice to power Stargate’s ambitious AI agenda. American AI companies, some of which have publicly committed to offsetting carbon emissions with green energy sources, may now be poised to double down on fossil fuels during a second administration. “Drill baby drill” is coming for AI.
What is Stargate?
Donald Trump discussed how Stargate might play out during a press conference Tuesday night. Standing beside him were three of the plan’s key architects—Oracle Co-founder Larry Ellison, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. In theory, the project aims to open up $500 billion in funding to build out new, US-based data centers meant to power AI in the coming years. SoftBank is the primary funder of the entity, and OpenAI will be responsible for the project’s operations. Critics, including close Trump ally Elon Musk, have questioned whether or not the companies can actually secure the amount of investment they’ve promised. Regardless, Stargate partners say they are already deploying $100 billion to build out the first set of data centers in Texas. Writing in a blog post this week, OpenAI said the multiyear efforts could ultimately create hundreds of thousands of US jobs and “secure American leadership in AI.”
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