Stargate, smargate. We're spending $60B+ on AI this year, Meta's Zuckerberg boasts

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg revealed plans on Friday to blow through as much as $60 to 65 billion in 2025 on plenty more AI resources for his social media mega-corp – and signaled his intention to continue the spending spree for years to come.

The announcement comes just days after rival model builder OpenAI unveiled, in a briefing with US President Trump, an alleged $500 billion AI infrastructure project for itself called Stargate alongside partners SoftBank, Oracle, and MGX.

The Stargate project quickly drew skepticism from the likes of xAI founder and US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk, who openly questioned whether OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and his pals really had the cash to make it happen. The OpenAI chief rubbished those claims. Given the history and animosity between Musk and Altman, none of this is a surprise, though seeing Musk (a big-name player in the Trump administration ...