Immediate $10 Billion Investment Reduced to One Data Center This Year
Disagreement Between the Two Companies Over Data Center Construction
The $500 billion (approximately 693 trillion won) "Stargate" project, which was launched the day after US President Donald Trump took office, is now at risk of collapse just six months later. Participating companies OpenAI and Japan's SoftBank are experiencing difficulties reaching an agreement, causing disruptions to the project. The short-term plans have also been drastically scaled back.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 21st (local time), Stargate, the company established to push the project forward, has not yet signed a single contract to build an artificial intelligence (AI) data center.
The Stargate project is centered on securing data centers to boost AI development. It was jointly announced at the White House on January 21, immediately after President Trump’s inauguration, by Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son. At the time, it was announced that $100 billion would be invested immediately, with an additional $400 billion to be invested over the next four years, totaling $500 billion by 2029. President Trump stated that, through this initiative, the United States would surpass China and secure a dominant position in the AI industry.
Although Stargate initially planned to invest $100 billion immediately in January, sources say the goal has been revised to building a single small-scale data center in Ohio by the end of the year.
The WSJ, citing sources, reported that there is a disagreement between SoftBank and OpenAI over how many data centers should be built on land related to SB Energy, an energy development company backed by SoftBank. Additionally, although SoftBank owns the Stargate trademark, sources said that OpenAI is using the Stargate name for data centers in which SoftBank has not invested.
The WSJ explained that while Chairman Son is eager to collaborate with OpenAI, CEO Altman is also signing data center construction contracts with companies other than SoftBank in order to secure computing power to support the next-generation ChatGPT.
However, both companies maintain that the project is progressing smoothly. Last week, CEO Altman attended a SoftBank event via video and stated that the initial goal is to jointly build data centers with a total capacity of 10 gigawatts (GW). The two companies also issued a joint statement saying that the project is underway in several states.
Meanwhile, the WSJ reported that the roles of Oracle and the United Arab Emirates technology fund MGX, both named as partners at the time of the project’s announcement, remain unclear.
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