500 billion USD for the Stargate project

Stargate Project: Gigantic 500 billion dollar investment in AI infrastructure The new project from SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle is set to revolutionize the AI industry and create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the USA.

Washington, D.C., January 22, 2025 - The newly founded Stargate Project has announced an ambitious goal: Over the next four years, 500 billion US dollars are to be invested in the expansion of AI infrastructure in the United States. A sum of 100 billion dollars will be made available in the first year to initiate the construction of new data centers. The project aims to strengthen the USA's technological leadership in artificial intelligence (AI), create hundreds of thousands of new jobs and generate economic benefits worldwide.

Strategic partnerships drive Stargate forward

The leading investors behind Stargate are SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX, with SoftBank taking financial responsibility and OpenAI taking operational responsibility. Masayoshi Son, CEO of SoftBank, will chair the project. Key technology partners include Microsoft, NVIDIA, Arm, Oracle and OpenAI.

With this infrastructure, we can continue to train leading models and develop products that benefit people around the world.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI

Construction of the infrastructure will begin in Texas, with additional locations across the country currently being evaluated. Oracle, NVIDIA and OpenAI are working together to develop and operate the new systems, based on a long-standing collaboration between OpenAI and NVIDIA and a more recent partnership with Oracle.

Relevance for business and security

US President Donald Trump called Stargate a "monumental project" and emphasized its strategic importance for national security and the economic re-industrialization of the USA. The expansion of specialized data centers is intended to form the basis for advanced AI applications and secure the long-term competitiveness of the USA. The President expects the project to create 100,000 jobs directly in the USA in the near future. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, emphasized that Stargate will make a decisive contribution to the development of artificial intelligence.

AI investments at record level

Since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, investment in AI has increased significantly worldwide. The high demands on specialized data centers continue to drive up demand for infrastructure. Forecasts by the Electric Power Research Institute predict that data centers could account for up to nine percent of US electricity consumption by the end of the decade. With Stargate, the industry is now taking a historic step towards shaping the future of artificial intelligence globally and creating new spaces for innovation.

Comment: Germany slows down while the world invests: The price of missed opportunities

While the Stargate Project in the USA impressively demonstrates how far-reaching investments in pioneering technologies can be scaled up, a comparable commitment in Germany seems almost unthinkable. An investment of 500 billion dollars in a single project - as is planned for the construction of the new AI infrastructure - is beyond what is even being discussed in this country. Although there are lighthouse projects such as the IPAI (Artificial Intelligence Innovation Park), while the USA is investing widely and boldly in the future, German politicians too often talk about investments when ailing bridges are being renovated or trains are supposed to run on time. Given the sheer volume of money and speed of American initiatives, it is becoming increasingly difficult for Germany and Europe to remain competitive. What is urgently needed is a commitment to our own creative talents, a courageous reduction in excessive bureaucracy and the will to finally let the economy off the leash in order to promote innovation on a grand scale.