Stargate project should only benefit OpenAI
Donald Trump has announced the 500 billion US dollar AI data center. However, only OpenAI is set to benefit from this.
(Image: IM Imagery/Shutterstock.com)
The so-called Project Stargate is already under construction. Even though Donald Trump made a big announcement about it, there has been speculation and plans for a long time, but these have not been made public. The AI infrastructure being built in Texas is expected to cost 500 billion US dollars. The backers include Oracle, SoftBank, Nvidia, and the investment fund MGX from the United Arab Emirates. However, insiders have now revealed that the data centers will only be used by OpenAI, which is also one of the investors.
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The Financial Times reports that no money from the US government will actually be invested in the project. However, the newspaper also quotes someone who says: “The intention is not to become a data center provider for the world, but for OpenAI.” The Financial Times also writes that no plans have yet been drawn up, either in terms of funding or implementation. The companies concerned did not wish to comment. Not the least Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, had said that the project would secure the USA's leading role in the field of AI. Now it sounds more as if it is intended to support OpenAI's dominance.
Tech companies from Silicon Valley are currently vying for the US President's favor. Accordingly, he was allowed to announce the billion-euro project, even though he actually had little to do with it. Nevertheless, not all companies are likely to like it equally. There was once talk of Microsoft making a major investment in Stargate, but now there is no longer any talk of this. At the same time, OpenAI and Microsoft have only just severed their ties a little, and OpenAI will be able to source its cloud capacities elsewhere in the future. Potentially from Texas. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, believes that computing power is crucial when it comes to developing even more powerful AI – through to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Trump's current close confidant, Elon Musk, is at odds with OpenAI. He co-founded the AI start-up, but then fell out with the other founders over its direction. Musk also wants to develop AI further, now with his own company, xAI. However, this will obviously not provide him with access to Stargate. There are fundamental doubts whether companies such as OpenAI even have the necessary financial resources to reach 500 billion US dollars, Musk claims, among others.
(emw)
