Trump Announces $500 Billion AI Infrastructure Investment

What Happened?

President Donald Trump announced a private-sector investment of up to $500 billion to fund future infrastructure for artificial intelligence across the U.S.

Companies SoftBank Group Corp. (SFTBY), Oracle Corp. (ORCL), and OpenAI are reportedly forming a $100 billion joint venture called Stargate as part of this process to enhance the development speed overall.

Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, Oracle Chief Technology Officer Larry Ellison, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined Trump Tuesday during a White House event that unveiled the historic announcement.

Trump said that the venture, with an investment set to be made over the next four years, would create more than 100,000 American jobs as 'the largest AI infrastructure project in history.'

'We’re starting off with tremendous investment coming into our country at levels that nobody’s really ever seen before,' Trump added.

Bloomberg reports that SoftBank saw its biggest intraday rise since August as shares jumped 11% in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Oracle shares rose above 8% Wednesday in premarket U.S. trading.

The U.S. aims to maintain an AI leadership advantage over China and other rival nations amid high geopolitical stakes, according to reports.

Oracle's Ellison stated Tuesday that the project's data centers are already under construction in Texas.

He added that this AI project could ultimately help doctors better care for their patients by analyzing electronic health records.

In December, CEO Masayoshi Son and President Trump announced a preview of the $100 billion investment over the next four years.

Trump had said this investment would 'help ensure that artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and other industries of tomorrow, are built, created, and grown right here in the USA.'

Why it Matters

Stargate reportedly plans to construct 20 data centers, half a million square feet each as part of this project venture in the U.S.

It's a concern some have amid AI requirements for large amounts of specialized data centers that involve enormous amounts of computing power, according to reports.

The announcement comes after President Trump rescinded former President Joe Biden's Oct. 2023 executive order surrounding balance in the pursuit of cutting-edge technology.

'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 during his speech Tuesday.

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) published a 10-year outlook report in December that revealed some staggering statistics.

The report stated more than half of North America faces a risk of power supply shortfalls in the next five to 10 years as data centers increase demand and threaten resource adequacy.

Former President Biden signed a separate executive order on Jan. 14 that called for U.S. departments to lease federal sites to scale frontier AI infrastructure while also advancing more clean energy, national security, and AI safety.

Companies would also have to tap federal land for AI data centers to purchase an 'appropriate share' of American-made semiconductors.

How it Affects You

It’s not reportedly clear how the Trump administration will differentiate from his predecessor's plan to safeguard AI technology.

J. Alan Roberson of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators told the Associated Press that 'everyone is trying to get a better idea of the impact of data centers on water use now and in the future.'

Keeping expert safety concerns in mind to ensure progress is safely made will be vital for the future state of the nation.