What Is the Stargate Project?

By Scott Levine – Updated May 27, 2025 at 4:35 PM | Fact-checked by Frank Bass

Key Points

Stargate Project, led by OpenAI and SoftBank, plans to develop AI infrastructure with a $500 billion investment by 2029.
Oracle, MGX, and other tech giants are funding Stargate to enhance U.S. leadership in AI and support global AI projects.
Stargate's global initiative includes assisting 10 countries with AI infrastructure, aiming to expand AI accessibility.

Motivated to ensure that the United States remains a global leader in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), OpenAI and SoftBank have created a new company, the Stargate Project, which will develop infrastructure to support AI growth.

Person in a suit holding a tablet with the image of a brain filled with circuitry projected above it. — Image source: Getty Images.

Loading paragraph...

The importance of Stargate

Just as people who flip kitchen lights on don't often think of the power plants where the electricity is produced, people using ChatGPT aren't likely to consider what happens between making their requests of the AI tool and then receiving their responses. In short, there's a significant amount of computing taking place -- computing that requires copious amounts of electricity.

Of course, it's not only OpenAI that's cognizant of the high power demands that AI is placing on the electrical grid. Leading AI providers like Meta Platforms (META -2.71%), Microsoft (MSFT -1.99%), Amazon (AMZN -2.85%), and Alphabet (GOOG +0.16%) are investing billions of dollars in developing data centers to meet the computing demands of AI.

Loading paragraph...

Stargate in action

Planning on deploying $500 billion to develop data centers, OpenAI certainly has lofty ambitions with Stargate. Smart -- and experienced -- investors know full well, however, that a company's articulation of lofty goals doesn't guarantee that they will come to fruition. While OpenAI announced Stargate in early 2025, it ran into a snag just a few months later when SoftBank, which planned on investing $100 billion in the project, encountered some difficulties courting investors due to questions about tariffs and other concerns.

Time will tell if OpenAI succeeds in growing its data center infrastructure, but one thing that seems fairly certain is that data center growth among the AI industry writ large is poised to grow considerably -- a boon for companies like Nvidia that provide the hardware necessary for the development of data centers.

About the Author

Scott Levine is a contributing Motley Fool stock market analyst covering energy, industrials, technology, and materials. He is also a high school English teacher and a small business owner. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and creative writing from Binghamton University, a master’s degree in secondary education from Adelphi University, and an advanced certificate in school building leadership from CUNY Queens College. A crossword puzzle enthusiast, he has solved more than 3,100 New York Times puzzles with a 97% solve rate.

TMFProudMonkey

@TMFProudMonkey

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.