On January 21, 2025, President Donald Trump announced the launch of the Stargate project, a joint venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and investment company MGX aimed at developing AI infrastructure in the United States. However, Elon Musk, CEO of xAI and White House advisor, expressed doubts about the project's financial viability, The Verge reports.
According to Musk, the companies involved in Stargate have no money.
They don’t actually have the money
In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman denied these allegations and invited Musk to visit the construction site in Texas, where 10 data centers are already under construction. Altman noted that SoftBank is financially responsible for the project, while OpenAI is operational responsible.
wrong, as you surely know.
want to come visit the first site already under way?
this is great for the country. i realize what is great for the country isn't always what's optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you'll mostly put 🇺🇸 first.
До дискусії приєднався генеральний директор Microsoft Сатья Наделла, який заявив, що має $80 мільярдів для фінансування проєкту. До речі, Microsoft бере участь у проєкті Stargate, як технологічний партнер. Але SoftBank, OpenAI й Oracle зазначені як “первинні інвестори” Stargate.
😂 And all this money is not about hyping AI, but is about building useful things for the real world!
The Stargate project, which President Trump called "the largest AI infrastructure project in history," aims to create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States. It is planned to build data centers in different states, and Trump has promised to use executive orders to accelerate infrastructure development. It is planned to invest up to $500 billion in the project by 2029, starting with a starting $100 billion.
This public conflict between Musk and Altman highlights a long-standing rivalry between the two tech leaders that began over disagreements over OpenAI's leadership. Musk, who was one of OpenAI's first investors, has previously criticized the company for straying from its original nonprofit goals and even filed a lawsuit to stop OpenAI from becoming a commercial entity.