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OpenAI and Microsoft are partnering with Elon Musk for Stargate, a new $500 billion artificial intelligence infrastructure project that President Donald Trump has hailed as “a powerful statement of confidence in America’s potential under a new president.” countered the criticism.
Musk poured cold water on the project on Tuesday night in an unusual break with President Trump, writing, “They don’t actually have the money.” He added that he knew “on good authority” that SoftBank had secured less than $10 billion.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Wednesday shot back at Musk’s claims, saying they are “just as we know, wrong.”
“I understand that what’s great for the country isn’t necessarily what’s best for your company, but I want you to put (America) first in your new role,” he said.
Stargate’s founding investors SoftBank, Open AI, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi’s state-run AI fund MGX will put some of their own money into the company, but most of the initial $100 billion will be invested in the company. Project officials say they have not yet been identified.
Wrong, as you probably know.
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This is great for the country. We understand that what’s great for the country isn’t necessarily what’s best for your company, but we want you to put 🇺🇸 first in your new role.
— Sam Altman (@sama) January 22, 2025
Another person said the financing would be a combination of equity and debt from founding partners and co-investors, but added: “We are ready to commit $100 billion immediately.”
Musk, who co-chairs the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, has had a long-running feud with OpenAI, Altman and the startup’s biggest backer, Microsoft. Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI but resigned from the company’s board in 2018 after clashing with Altman.
Tesla executives have filed numerous lawsuits against the companies and Altman, accusing them of undermining the company’s mission to develop broadly useful AI models by prioritizing profits.
The spat between the two now threatens to cause some tension in the relationship between Musk and the new president. The new president presented the project as an early victory in his plan to encourage investment in the United States through lower taxes and deregulation.
Trump announced Stargate on Tuesday at the White House, joined by Altman, SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
The president suggested Stargate would create 100,000 jobs, symbolize a victory over China and help preserve America’s “technological future.” He also said he would use an “emergency declaration” to speed up access to the vast amount of electricity that would be needed.
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In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the company plans to spend $80 billion in capital spending this year, separate from Stargate. “All I know is it’s okay to have $80 billion,” he said.
Japan’s SoftBank shares rose more than 10% on Wednesday after President Trump announced a joint venture that plans to spend $100 billion on high-tech infrastructure, increasing to $500 billion over the next four years.
Other publicly traded companies involved in Stargate also saw their stock prices rise. Oracle rose 7%, while the project’s technology partners Arm, Nvidia, and Microsoft rose 17%, 4%, and 3%, respectively. OpenAI, which operates the project, is not publicly traded.
SoftBank and OpenAI declined to comment. MGX and Oracle did not respond to requests for comment.
