Trump 2.0 kicks off with $0.5 trillion AI infrastructure deal - and maybe a hint at TikTok's future in the process?

A joint venture between Oracle, OpenAI and Softbank on the largest AI infrastructure project in history, bringing the promise of half a trillion dollars in investment in the US economy and hundreds of thousands of jobs - by anyone's standards, it’s an impressive commitment that comes in the shape of the new Stargate initiative announced by President Trump yesterday.

Twenty data centers will be built, half a million square feet each, with construction of the first in Texas already underway. NVIDIA, Arm and Microsoft will also be in the mix, although as tech providers, not as direct investors it seems. An initial $100 billion is coming from Oracle, OpenAI and Softbank with up to $500 billion over the next four years. In terms of division of responsibilities, the announcement on Softbank's website has it and OpenAI as the "lead partners". SoftBank has ultimate financial responsibility for the new ...