Tech titans join Trump for US$100 billion AI boost ‘to beat China’ in Day 2 pledge

OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle CEOs join the new president for White House launch of private sector joint venture Stargate

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US President Donald Trump announces the US$100 billion artificial intelligence venture at the White House on Tuesday. Looking on are, from left, Masayoshi Son from SoftBank Group, Oracle Corporation’s Larry Ellison, and Sam Altman, the OpenAI CEO. Photo: AP

Published: 10:25am, 22 Jan 2025Updated: 2:20pm, 22 Jan 2025

US President Donald Trump has started his second term with a bang – a private sector artificial intelligence investment of at least US$100 billion announced by the White House on Tuesday.

“This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential under a new president,” Trump said. “This is money that normally would have gone to China or other countries, but in particular China.”

The joint venture, called Stargate, would see tech companies OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle initially invest a combined US$100 billion into the creation of data centres – massive buildings full of servers delivering computing power.

The funding could expand to US$500 billion over the next four years, according to the announcement. The three companies will offer access to other investors, with the first data centre due to open in Texas and the initiative reportedly creating 100,000 jobs.

Trump – who pledged during his campaign to prioritise US-made AI to compete against China for global leadership – was joined in the White House’s Roosevelt Room by OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son and Oracle’s Larry Ellison.

The three executives all said the proposed 20-building project could not be done without Trump, although its origin predates his presidency and construction of the first 92,900 square metre (1 million square feet) building is already under way.