--- title: "There’s Apparently a Huge Financial Problem With Trump’s Massive AI Project" description: "According to the Financial Times, Trump's AI project, Stargate, may be facing insurmountable financial challenges." date: "2025-01-25" modified: "2025-01-25" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/huge-financial-problem-trump-ai-stargate" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "donald trump" - "elon musk" - "OpenAI" - "sam altman" - "stargate" --- # There’s Apparently a Huge Financial Problem With Trump’s Massive AI Project ![]() *\Image: Jim WATSON / AFP\* President Donald Trump's [behemoth $500 billion AI infrastructure project](), dubbed Stargate, may be doomed from the start. Trump made the sweeping announcement earlier this week, revealing that the ChatGPT maker, investment company SoftBank, tech giant Oracle, and [Abu Dhabi state-run AI fund MGX]() would initially spend a total of $100 billion on the project, with the eventual goal of reaching half a *trillion* dollars in just a few years. But in reality, [according to the *Financial Times*' sources](), Stargate may be facing insurmountable financial challenges as it attempts to get off the ground. "They haven’t figured out the structure, they haven’t figured out the financing, they don’t have the money committed," an unnamed source told the newspaper. Did Trump put the cart before the horse by making a splashy announcement before the pieces were in place? Critics of the project think it's entirely possible. The *FT*'s reporting is especially interesting considering this is exactly what multi-hyphenate Elon Musk, a personal enemy of Altman's, [accused OpenAI of earlier this week](). "They don’t actually have the money," the mercurial CEO [tweeted]() just hours after the project was announced. "SoftBank has well under $10B secured," Musk wrote in a [followup]() an hour later. "I have that on good authority." It's difficult to gauge the legitimacy of either Musk's or the *FT*'s claims. Could Stargate actually collapse under its own weight, stumbling at the starting line without the necessary funds to build out data centers in the United States? It's true that SoftBank has had a troubled history with past investments, [posting a record $32 billion loss]() for its Vision Fund in 2023. Many companies the lender has backed have shuttered or filed for bankruptcy, with [WeWork being a particularly notable example](). Musk certainly has plenty to gain from voicing his doubts, having founded his own AI company that was passed over by the Stargate program. He's has [had an extremely strained relationship]() with Altman for years. OpenAI and SoftBank are each expected to commit $19 billion to fund Stargate, as [*The Information* reported]() on Wednesday. Effectively, each company will hold a 40 percent interest in the project. The companies behind Stargate claim that work has already begun. Construction began for an Oracle-funded data center in Abilene, Texas, in June 2023, well over a year before Stargate was announced. But other than that, details about Stargate are notably thin. "There’s a real intent to do this, but the details haven’t been fleshed out," an unnamed source told the *FT*. "People want to do splashy things in the first week of Trump being in office." **More on Stargate:** *[Trump's $500 Billion AI Deal Includes Funding by UAE Royal Family Linked to Astonishing Number of Scandals, Including Human Torture]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()