OpenAI, the artificial intelligence startup, has teamed up with Japanese conglomerate SoftBank and Oracle to build a massive data center project in the US, dubbed The Stargate Project. The joint venture aims to invest up to $500 billion over the next four years, creating 100,000 jobs in the process.

The project will begin with a data center in Texas and eventually expand to other states. The companies made the announcement during a press conference at the White House on Tuesday, where President Donald Trump spoke about plans for investment in US infrastructure. SoftBank chief Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison were in attendance.

Microsoft is also involved in the project as a tech partner, along with Arm and Nvidia. SoftBank is already an investor in OpenAI, having committed $500 million towards the AI startup's last funding round and an additional $1.5 billion to allow OpenAI staff to sell shares in a tender offer. Oracle, meanwhile, has an ongoing deal with OpenAI to supply AI computing resources.

The Stargate Project is expected to be a massive undertaking, with reports suggesting that the initial data center in Texas could reach nearly a gigawatt of electricity by mid-2026. This is equivalent to powering roughly 750,000 small homes. The project's scale is unprecedented, with estimates suggesting that it could cost around $3.4 billion.

The announcement comes as the AI industry continues to grow at an explosive pace, with many tech leaders calling for increased investment in data centers. AI systems require enormous server banks to develop and run at scale, and Goldman Sachs estimates that AI will represent about 19% of data center power demand by 2028.

OpenAI has blamed a lack of available compute for delaying its products, and compute capacity has reportedly become a source of tension between the AI company and Microsoft, its close collaborator and major investor. Microsoft recently announced that it is on track to spend $80 billion on AI data centers, highlighting the need for large-scale infrastructure investments.

However, massive data center projects like The Stargate Project have vocal critics who argue that they often create fewer jobs than promised and have severe environmental impacts. Data centers are typically water-hungry, placing a strain on regions with insufficient water resources, and their high power requirements have forced some utilities to lean heavily on fossil fuels.

Despite these concerns, investments in data centers are expected to continue to grow. According to a McKinsey report, capital spending on procurement and installation of mechanical and electrical systems for data centers could eclipse $250 billion in the next five years.

The Stargate Project is not the only major data center investment announced recently. In January, President Trump announced that Hussain Sajwani, an Emirati billionaire businessman, will invest $20 billion in new data centers across the US. Industry insiders have expressed skepticism about the deal's concreteness, however.

As the AI industry continues to grow, it remains to be seen how projects like The Stargate Project will impact the environment and create jobs. However, one thing is clear: the need for large-scale infrastructure investments in data centers is becoming increasingly urgent.