Advancements in the field of AI are moving full-steam ahead following the official announcement by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. During a meeting at the White House, Altman and U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans for the Stargate Project, consisting of a $500B, four-year initiative to build out artificial intelligence infrastructure.
According to an OpenAI announcement, the build-out is already underway in Texas. Stargate has broken ground to begin building data centers which will eventually support the massive computing power necessary for running and developing AI models.
OpenAI plans to allocate $100 billion immediately to get the project underway.
“This infrastructure will secure American leadership in AI, create hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and generate massive economic benefit for the entire world,” said the OpenAI announcement. “This project will not only support the re-industrialization of the United States but also provide a strategic capability to protect the national security of America and its allies.”
Advancements in AI have encountered some obstacles. Their progress has been slowed by regulation and increased energy demands. Experts also claimed that AI companies are running out of data for training models, hitting what’s referred to as a “data wall.”
Within hours of taking office, President Trump issued an executive order rescinding Executive Order 14110 , which was created by the Biden administration regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI). It was a government-wide effort to oversee AI development and deployment through regulation of the industry, federal agency leadership, and engagement with international partners.
Trump’s Stargate AI Infrastructure Plan is aimed at ensuring “the future of technology” in the U.S. While some speculate its potential to transform the tech industry, Wall Street and other analysts feel it’s an important step in ramping investment in this evolving technology.
“What’s important to understand is not only the power of AI technology but perhaps more importantly, the power—in terms of energy—that will be required to meet demand in the coming few years. This plan is aimed at addressing that need quickly,” said Vijay Marolia, founder and chief information officer of RP Capital Solutions. ”When you consider what $500 Billion can do, it really speaks to the magnitude of the investment. When you consider that something like 30 states have a GDP less than $500B! The fact that the partnership includes the top talent in tech should also add credence to what is achievable in the long run.”
President Trump’s goal is for his administration to have a plan of action regarding US artificial intelligence ready within 180 days.
Last week, the president signed an executive order calling for the US “to sustain and enhance America’s global AI dominance.”
“I think business leaders trust the Trump administration to be business friendly and eliminate the red tape that has piled up and prevented projects from moving forward over the last few years,” said Marolia. “It seems a large percentage of our population doesn’t realize how far the US has come in terms of energy production. We are now the kings of the hill, producing more energy from natural resources than Saudi Arabia. Peak oil was a myth and it’s no longer credible.”
The state of Texas will play an integral part in leading the way for the AI infrastructure project.
Abilene, Texas, was chosen as the site of the first Stargate data center. According to KTXS, Develop Abilene posted on Facebook, “This historic milestone builds on the successes of the 2021 Development Corporation of Abilene Project “Lancium Clean Campus.”
In the same KTXS report, Oracle Executive Chairman, Larry Ellison stated, “The data centers are actually under construction, the first of them are under construction in Texas,” “Each building is half a million square feet. There are 10 buildings currently being built but that will expand to 20 in other locations beyond the Abilene location, which is our first location.”
Stargate’s first information center school construction project includes two structures. The first structure, estimated to cost $292 million, is a 482,000-square-foot one-story “information hall”. The project broke ground in June 2024 and is scheduled for completion by May 2025.
