New $500B AI infrastructure project Stargate to be based in U.S.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening announced the formation of  the new artificial intelligence joint venture Stargate. The new American company will invest $500 billion into the development of AI infrastructure in the United States, Trump said.  This will require the construction of what Trump described as colossal data centers.  Characterizing the new company as the largest AI infrastructure project in history, Trump promised that Stargate will create 100,000 U.S. jobs and develop AI solutions to improve the quality of life for American citizens. He said it is necessary to create such a company in order to compete with China's AI investments, and vowed do so through an emergency declaration, if necessary. 

Who is behind this new company? A trio of technology executives appeared with Trump during the news conference to announce the new joint venture. They included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison, and SoftBank Group Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son. 

Where will this company be located? Ten data centers, each at roughly 500,000 square feet, are currently being built in Texas, according to Ellison. He said 10 more will were also being planned for other locations. Trump said executives are already scouting for other  possible U.S. locations. 

What kind of AI solutions will the company develop? Son recalled President Trump's Inauguration Day speech in which he promised to initiate a new golden age for the United States. This commitment to AI development was one example of how that would be achieved, Son said. Altman insisted that AI would enable doctors to begin curing diseases like cancer at an unprecedented rate. AI will assist doctors in detecting cancer much earlier than currently possible—through the use of simple blood tests—and doctors around the world would be able to share treatment plans and information through AI, Ellison predicted. Son added that this investment in artificial intelligence will ultimately lead to the development of what he characterized as "artificial super-intelligence," which would make it possible for mankind to solve even deeper problems it never thought possible.

Dig deeper: Read Grace Snell's report on the proliferation of AI-written news online.