"Slapping face" Musk? SoftBank and OpenAI inject $19 billion into "Interstellar Gateway"

According to reports, SoftBank Group and OpenAI plan to invest $19 billion each in the artificial intelligence project "Stargate." The two companies will each own 40% of "Stargate." It is understood that on Tuesday local time, US President Donald Trump, SoftBank Group's Masayoshi Son, OpenAI's Sam Altman, and Oracle Corporation's Larry Ellison announced the cooperation plan called "Stargate" at the White House. They said they will immediately deploy $100 billion, with the ultimate goal of investing $500 billion to build data centers and physical campuses. Since the announcement of "Stargate," artificial intelligence stocks have risen as the market expects a surge in hardware spending. Following an 11% increase on Wednesday, SoftBank's stock price rose 6% on Thursday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. However, the lack of financing details for the "Stargate" project has raised questions, including from tech industry figures like Elon Musk. Musk stated on the social media platform X, "They don't actually have the money. I have reliable information that SoftBank's financing guarantee is far less than $100 billion." This led to a response from Altman, implying that Musk's unease may be due to potential competition with his own artificial intelligence project. Altman reportedly told colleagues that "Stargate" is like a venture capital fund, with OpenAI and SoftBank as its general partners. It is reported that Oracle Corporation and Abu Dhabi-backed MGX will each contribute around $7 billion. The rest of the funding will come from limited partners and debt financing. Trump has made it clear that the US's leadership in artificial intelligence is a top priority for his administration. He has hinted at taking extensive measures to ensure US dominance, including speeding up approval processes and relaxing other regulations to stimulate private sector investment. However, there are still doubts about whether "Stargate" will spark significant new investments. It was reported that in December last year, Masayoshi Son announced during a visit to Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate that he would invest $100 billion in the US for developing artificial intelligence, with "Stargate" expected to draw funds from this. However, SoftBank currently does not have enough cash on hand to fulfill Son's commitment. As of the end of September last year, the company had 3.8 trillion yen ($250 billion) in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet. Additionally, Ellison of Oracle Corporation stated that some of the data centers involved in the project are already under construction. OpenAI had previously disclosed plans for investing in artificial intelligence infrastructure. The broader impact of the Stargate project remains to be seen. However, Wedbush Securities believes it marks the beginning of a wave of large-scale artificial intelligence investments in the US, with more major tech companies expected to announce news in the coming weeks.