Trump announces private-sector $500bln AI investment

US President Donald Trump has announced a private sector investment of up to $500 billion (AED 1.8 trillion) to fund infrastructure for artificial intelligence, aiming to outpace rival nations in the business-critical technology.

Trump said that ChatGPT's creator OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle are planning a joint venture called Stargate, which he said will build data centers and create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States.

These companies, along with other equity backers of Stargate, have committed $100 (AED 376 billion) billion for immediate deployment, with the remaining investment expected to occur over the next four years.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison joined Trump at the White House for the launch.

The first of the project's data centers are already under construction in Texas, Ellison said at the press conference. Twenty will be built, half a million square feet each, he said. The project could power AI that analyses electronic health records and helps doctors care for their patients, Ellison said.

The executives gave Trump credit for the news. "We wouldn't have decided to do this," Son told Trump, "unless you won."

"For AGI to get built here," said Altman, referring to more powerful technology called artificial general intelligence, "we wouldn't be able to do this without you, Mr. President."

It was not immediately clear whether the announcement was an update to a previously reported venture.

In March 2024, The Information, a technology news website, reported OpenAI and Microsoft were working on plans for a $100 billion (AED 376) data center project that would include an artificial intelligence supercomputer also called "Stargate" set to launch in 2028.

The announcement on Trump's second day in office follows the rolling back of former President Joe Biden's executive order on AI, that was intended to reduce the risks that AI poses to consumers, workers and national security.