Tech Giants Unveil $500 Billion 'Stargate' AI Plan in the US

Tech Giants Unveil $500 Billion ‘Stargate’ AI Plan in the US

The company that invented ChatGPT, OpenAI, is working with a different US technology giant as well as the Japanese investment firm, and the Emirati sovereign wealth trust to create $500 billion (PS405bn) of AI (AI) infrastructure across the United States.

The new company, dubbed The Stargate Project, was unveiled in the White House by Donald Trump who described it as “the largest AI infrastructure project by far in history.”

The initiative, which was launched just before Trump became president, announced $100 billion in funding would be immediately available and the remainder to be made available over the course of four years. The plan will create around 100,000 jobs.

It’s a partnership that involves OpenAI, Oracle, Japan’s Softbank and MGX which is a technology investment department that is part of the United Arab Emirates government.

The AI industry has grown exponentially in recent times, creating an enormous demand for data centers that it depends on, and also raising concerns over the massive amount of power and water these facilities consume.

‘Most important project of this era’

The US is the current world’s leader in AI investing, vastly outspending every other country.

However, Trump insists that he must intervene to assist the industry.

“I’m going to help a lot through emergency declarations because we have an emergency,” declared Donald Trump, stressing the importance of preserving AI within the US.

Trump declared that his administration will “make it possible for them to get that production done very easily.”

“I think this will be the most important project of this era,” said the chief executive of OpenAI, Sam Altman, who stood next to Trump when he made the announcement.

“We wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Mr President,” said the president added, praising Trump despite the project being already in progress.

Oracle’s chief technology officer, Larry Ellison, said the first data centre was in building in Texas and that more were to be constructed in other places within the US.

The Information, a technology news site, initially published a report on this project in March of last year.

OpenAI announced that the announcement was the culmination more than a whole year of discussions.

Others technology collaborators include British chipmaker Arm, US chipmaker Nvidia and Microsoft who already have an alliance with OpenAI.

Mushrooming demand

This initiative is the latest of a series of major investments in data centers made by the US technology sector.

Microsoft One of major sponsors of OpenAI, stated in the last month that it was in the process to invest $80 billion in AI-powered data centers in the coming year.

It also is part of an $100 billion venture which includes BlackRock along with MGX which is focusing on creating AI investments in data centres.

Amazon has been putting cash into the sector on the same rate, and recently announced two initiatives with a combined value of $10 billion in the past two months.

In an article published in the year 2000, McKinsey said that the global demand for data centre capacity will nearly triple in 2030, and grow between 19 percent and 27% per year until 2030.

To meet this demand, the consulting firm estimated that at the very least, twice the capacity must be constructed by 2030, compared to the capacity that was built since 2000.

Analysts have also cautioned that the process could be slowed due to issues related to land and power constraints, as well as permits.

The escalating demand for the centers have also raised concerns regarding the impact on energy supply and the need to answer concerns over the importance that foreign investment plays.

One of Biden’s last actions at his final days in the White House, former President Joe Biden put forward rules that could limit the export for AI related chips to several countries across the globe The move was argued to assist in helping the US manage the field.

The president also issued directives related to the creation of data centres on public land, which highlighted the role of renewable energy to power the centers.

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