President Donald Trump of the United States has unveiled a $500 billion joint venture with Texas-based tech giant Oracle, Japan’s SoftBank, and ChatGPT developer OpenAI aimed at enhancing artificial intelligence infrastructure. At a White House event on Tuesday, Trump was joined by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Oracle's Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison for the announcement. Trump described the venture as “by far” the largest AI infrastructure initiative in history and a “resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential” under his administration. “This is all happening right here in America.

There is fierce competition in AI and other domains, and we are rising to the occasion, ” Trump stated. In response to the announcement, shares of Tokyo-based SoftBank Group surged over 8 percent on Wednesday. Dubbed the Stargate venture, the partnership will see the three companies initially invest $100 billion, with plans to increase that amount to $500 billion over the next four years. Trump explained that the funding will be allocated to establishing "colossal data centers" and the essential infrastructure to support AI, ensuring the technology’s future. “Our goal is to keep this innovation within our borders, ” Trump emphasized, highlighting that China and other nations are competitors. The project will be directed by SoftBank and OpenAI, with Son serving as chairman, as stated in an announcement from OpenAI. Trump's declaration followed his revocation of an executive order from former President Joe Biden, which had put in place safety guidelines for AI development. These guidelines had mandated that companies disclose safety test results to the US government, among other requirements. With Trump's new executive order, the Stargate initiative and other US-based AI projects will no longer be bound by national development guidelines, though individual states may still enforce their own regulations. In brief comments on Tuesday, Son expressed optimism, stating that Stargate marks the “beginning of our golden age. ” The Stargate initiative is also expected to involve some of the leading tech firms in the US, according to OpenAI. SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX will act as equity funders, while key initial technology partners will include Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI, according to a statement released on X. OpenAI noted that construction has already begun in Texas and that they are assessing various locations across the nation for additional campuses as definitive agreements are finalized, affirming that Stargate will “not only aid in the re-industrialization of the United States but also enhance the strategic capacity to protect national security for America and its allies. ”