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Tech leaders credit Trump win for initiative

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Stargate plans construction of 20 data centers

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Trump says project will create 100,000 jobs

(Adds executive comments in paragraphs 5-7)

By Steve Holland

Jan 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on

Tuesday announced a private sector investment of up to $500

billion 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 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 analyzes 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 ( MSFT ) were working on plans for a $100

billion data center project that would include an artificial

intelligence supercomputer also called "Stargate" set to launch

in 2028.

POWER-HUNGRY DATA CENTERS

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.

AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for

specialized data centers that enable tech companies to link

thousands of chips together in clusters.

"They have to produce a lot of electricity, and we'll make

it possible for them to get that production done very easily at

their own plants if they want," Trump said.

As U.S. power consumption rises from AI data centers and the

electrification of buildings and transportation, about half of

the country is at increased risk of power supply shortfalls in

the next decade, the North American Electric Reliability

Corporation said in December.

As a candidate in 2016, Trump promised to push a $1 trillion

infrastructure bill through Congress but did not. He talked

about the topic often during his first term as president from

2017 to 2021, but never delivered on a large investment, and

"Infrastructure Week" became a punchline.

Oracle shares were up 7% on initial report of the project

earlier in the day. Nvidia ( NVDA ), Arm Holdings and Dell

shares also rose.

Investment in AI has surged since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in

2022, as companies across sectors have sought to integrate

artificial intelligence into their products and services.