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OpenAI and Microsoft have hit back at Elon Musk’s criticism of Stargate, the new $500bn artificial intelligence infrastructure project hailed by Donald Trump as a “resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential under a new president”.
In a rare break with Trump, Musk on Tuesday evening poured cold water on the project, writing: “They don’t actually have the money.” He added that he had it “on good authority” that SoftBank had secured less than $10bn.
OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman responded on Wednesday that Musk’s claim was “wrong, as you surely know”.
“I realise 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 [the US] first,” he wrote.
While Stargate’s founding investors — SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX, the Abu Dhabi state AI fund — will put some of their own capital to work in the company, a large portion of the initial $100bn is expected to come from new investors who have not yet been identified, according to one person involved in the project.
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
Another person involved said the funding would be a combination of equity from the founding partners and co-investors, as well as debt, but they added: “We are prepared to deploy $100bn immediately.”
Musk, who co-chairs the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, has been in a long-running feud with OpenAI, Altman and the start-up’s biggest backer Microsoft. Musk was a co-founder of OpenAI, but left the board in 2018 after clashing with Altman.
The Tesla chief has launched a number of lawsuits against the two companies and Altman, claiming that they have compromised their mission to create broadly beneficial AI models by instead prioritising profits.
Their spat now threatens to inject a degree of tension into Musk’s relationship with the new president, who presented the project as an early win in his plans to drive investment in the US through low taxes and deregulation.
Trump unveiled Stargate on Tuesday in the White House, flanked by Altman, SoftBank chair Masayoshi Son and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.
The president suggested Stargate would create 100,000 jobs and represented a victory against China, helping to keep the “future of technology” in the US. He also said he would use “emergency declarations” to expedite its access to the huge amounts of electricity it will need.
In an interview with CNBC on Wednesday, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said his company had $80bn in planned capital expenditure this year, separate from Stargate. “All I know is I’m good for my $80bn,” he said.
Shares in Japan’s SoftBank jumped more than 10 per cent on Wednesday after Trump unveiled the joint venture, which plans to spend $100bn on tech infrastructure, rising to $500bn over the next four years.
Other public companies involved in Stargate also saw share price rises. Oracle added 7 per cent, while Arm, Nvidia and Microsoft — technology partners in the project — gained 17 per cent, 4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively. OpenAI, which will operate the project, is not publicly traded.
SoftBank and OpenAI declined to comment. MGX and Oracle did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
