this post was submitted on 19 Feb 2025
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Trump unveils $500bn AI investment by SoftBank, OpenAI and Oracle (asia.nikkei.com)
submitted 3 days ago by TacoButtPlug to c/[email protected]
6 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Because it's heavily paywalled, here's th gist:

February 2025: A major AI infrastructure investment in the US. Here are the key points:

Scale and Participants:

  • A $500 billion AI infrastructure investment announced by President Trump
  • Joint venture called "Stargate" formed by three companies:
    • SoftBank Group (Japan)
    • OpenAI (US)
    • Oracle (US)

Financial Details:

  • Initial commitment of $100 billion
  • Plans to increase to $500 billion over four years
  • SoftBank made an additional separate $100 billion investment pledge

Market Impact:

  • SoftBank shares rose 11.6% to ¥10,325 (highest since July 2024)
  • Oracle shares up 7.2% on Nasdaq
  • Japanese chip stocks also rose (Advantest +4.5%, Tokyo Electron +2.9%)

First Project:

  • Data center in Abilene, Texas
  • Over 46,500 square meters
  • Already under construction

Policy Context:

  • Trump administration emphasizing AI investment and deregulation
  • Trump rescinded Biden's 2023 executive order on AI regulation
  • Positioned as keeping technology investment in US rather than China

The announcement involved high-profile executives including Masayoshi Son (SoftBank CEO), Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO), and Larry Ellison (Oracle Chairman/CTO), who appeared with Trump at the White House for the announcement.

This represents one of the largest technology infrastructure investments in history and signals a major shift in US AI policy and investment strategy.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

I hate that they are defaming the good name of Stargate! It's one of my favorite shows....

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I want to see how they'll manage cutting edge ai research without schools

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

You don't need schools when you can get AI to write the code for you!

This is exhausting.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Just a bunch of oligarchs looting. Sweet.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Japan is an odd choice of partner. Wonder what the view is at home at this company wielding so much international power is.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

It's softbank. They founded other braindead schemes like wework.