Trump to Allocate $70 Billion in AI and Energy Investment, Escalating the Race for Technological Dominance

Trump is set to announce a $70 billion investment initiative focused on artificial intelligence and energy in the suburbs of Pittsburgh on Tuesday, representing the White House’s latest effort to accelerate the advancement of emerging technologies. According to a government official who requested anonymity, the plan will cover the construction of data centers, expansion of power generation capacity, upgrades to grid infrastructure, and AI workforce training programs.

Blackstone Inc. is expected to unveil a $25 billion project in data center and energy infrastructure. According to Jake Murphy, spokesperson for Republican Senator David McCormick, this initiative is projected to create 6,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent positions annually.

The announcement will take place at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University, where Trump will appear alongside McCormick to meet with 60 industry leaders, including BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Palantir Technologies Inc.'s Alex Karp, Anthropic's Dario Amodei, Exxon Mobil Corp.'s Darren Woods, and Chevron Corp.'s Mike Wirth.

This marks the third large-scale technology investment mobilized under Trump’s second term. Earlier this year, he facilitated a $100 billion-level investment in AI data centers by SoftBank Group Corp., OpenAI, and Oracle Corp., and rolled back export restrictions on AI chips imposed during the Biden administration.

According to officials, these actions are intended to safeguard the United States’ competitive advantage in artificial intelligence against China. The recent launch of the R1 large model by Chinese startup DeepSeek earlier this year—offering a low-cost technological breakthrough—triggered a reaction on Wall Street.

Energy supply has become a central concern. The White House warned that the share of electricity consumed by data centers across the U.S. is expected to increase from the current 3.5% to 8.6% by 2035. The Trump administration has advocated for a diversified energy strategy utilizing coal, natural gas, and nuclear power to prevent outages in computational capacity. The Department of Energy has invoked emergency authority to postpone the closure of two power plants at risk of shutdown.

This integration of power security with national security highlights the underlying energy anxiety associated with the AI race. Trump’s decision to make the announcement in Pennsylvania carries particular political significance. The state, which Biden won in 2020 and Trump reclaimed in 2024, recently finalized the $14.1 billion acquisition of US Steel Corp. by Nippon Steel Corp. Despite opposition from the United Steelworkers union, the deal—endorsed by Trump—has emerged as a political case study in balancing industrial interests and employment protection.