Three leading technology companies - OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle - announced at the White House on Tuesday, January 21, the creation of a new company called Stargate to develop artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States, CNN reports.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison appeared alongside President-elect Donald Trump to announce the creation of the company, which Trump called "the largest AI infrastructure project in history."

The companies are investing $100 billion in the initial phase of the project, with plans to invest up to $500 billion in the coming years. The project is expected to create 100,000 jobs in the United States.

The roles at the Stargate Project

Stargate will focus on creating the physical and virtual infrastructure for the development of next-generation AI, including building data centers across the country.

  • According to Ellison of Oracle, one of the largest data center operators in the United States, the first data center of more than 1 million square feet is already under construction in Texas.
  • SoftBank will assume the financial responsibility necessary to expand the AI infrastructure, which is expected to cost billions of dollars, while OpenAI will be responsible for operational management.
  • The fourth partner in the project will be MGX, which will also provide some of the funding. Son of SoftBank will become chairman of Stargate, OpenAI said.

AI leaders have been sounding the alarm for months that their AI ambitions will require more data centers in the coming years, as well as the chips, electricity, and water to run them.

In a recent report, OpenAI called on the US government to invest in infrastructure to maintain its technological edge over China.