Stargate, a privately funded effort that Donald Trump announced on the second day of his presidency, is supposed to raise up to $500 billion to build AI infrastructure in the US.
But the joint plan between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank may have only raised a fraction of that so far, according to Elon Musk, now one of Trump’s closest advisors.
Musk responded to a post on X from OpenAI on Wednesday. OpenAI’s post said that the venture “will begin deploying $100 billion immediately.”
However, Musk’s response to the post said that SoftBank has “well under $10B secured” for Stargate.
In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who appeared alongside Trump at the White House on Tuesday to unveil the effort, told Musk that his claim was wrong and invited him to come see a site where the funding is already being put to work.
Musk and Altman have a tense relationship and are locked in a legal battle. Musk founded xAI, which competes with OpenAI.
wrong, as you surely know.want to come visit the first site already under way?
this is great for the country. i realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role i hope you’ll mostly put 🇺🇸 first.
— Sam Altman (@sama) January 22, 2025
SoftBank declined to comment. Representatives for Musk, OpenAI and the Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
The exchange shows discord among some of the biggest names in the tech world just a few days into the second Trump administration. Since Trump’s electoral comeback in November, many tech executives have shown more interest in working with Trump than they did as he prepared to take office the first time eight years ago.
The Stargate announcement represents an early collaboration between Big Tech and Trump. The president said Tuesday that the project would make investments over the next four years, make AGI possible in the US, and create new jobs. Trump called it “the largest AI infrastructure project in history.”
Asked by CNBC about Musk’s claims on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shied away from confirming or challenging them.
“All I know is, I’m good for my $80 billion,” Nadella said, referencing Microsoft’s plan to build out its AI abilities this year using OpenAI’s models.
