Latest news with #Stargate
Globe and Mail
6 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Is Nvidia's Deal With OpenAI a Game Changer?
A number of companies have made commitments to invest in domestic infrastructure over the next several years. Chief among these initiatives is a joint venture among Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI. Known as Stargate, this consortium of technology leaders plans to invest $500 billion into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the U.S. Just last week, investors finally got an update on how Stargate is progressing. In perhaps a shock to absolutely no one, semiconductor powerhouse Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is involved with a new data center for OpenAI. Where to invest $1,000 right now? Our analyst team just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks to buy right now. Learn More » Let's dig into this deal and assess why it could be a game changer for Nvidia. How are Nvidia and OpenAI working together? As a refresher, OpenAI burst onto the AI scene a few years ago following a multibillion-dollar investment from Microsoft. While OpenAI's services, chief among them ChatGPT, have become heavily integrated throughout Microsoft's ecosystem, both companies have been seeking opportunities to branch out over the last year or so. For OpenAI, the company has reached a point whereby striking partnerships with other technology companies is essential -- hence the creation of Stargate. The reason for this is that as demand for ChatGPT grows, so does the need for compute power (i.e., more data center infrastructure). However, Microsoft simply cannot be the sole bridge to finance OpenAI's needs. Per recent reports, Oracle is planning to purchase an estimated 400,000 graphics processing units (GPU) from Nvidia for OpenAI's new data center in Texas. Of note, the GPUs are Nvidia's new Blackwell architecture and could cost Oracle up to $40 billion. Oracle will subsequently be leasing these chips to OpenAI as part of the deal structure, adding even more tailwinds to its fast-growing infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) division. Why is this deal important? I see two primary reasons why this deal is a game changer for Nvidia. First, global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company recently published a report in which it estimates nearly $7 trillion will be spent on AI infrastructure over the next five years. Within this grand total, McKinsey believes that hardware providers will be the biggest beneficiaries of rising AI capital expenditure (capex). Even though Stargate is still in its infancy, there are signs that hardware suppliers such as Nvidia are already benefiting from increased AI infrastructure budgets. Reports suggest that OpenAI is considering building more data centers beyond Texas. Given Nvidia's selection to lead this initial buildout, I'm optimistic the company could continue winning more contracts from the Stargate project -- hence, this could be the beginning of a long-term relationship between OpenAI and Nvidia. On top of that, it was reported earlier this year that OpenAI was collaborating with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to develop its own custom chipsets. While OpenAI may indeed eventually pursue custom silicon, it appears for now that the company's compute power relies heavily on data centers outfitted with Nvidia's GPUs. To me, this signals that demand for Blackwell continues to remain robust. Moreover, Nvidia's selection as a primary chip supplier for one of Stargate's initial projects underscores just how critical the company's hardware is for ongoing AI development. Should you buy Nvidia stock right now? For the first time in almost three years, Nvidia stock has actually taken a breather -- and a prolonged one at that. NVDA PE Ratio (Forward) data by YCharts Investors have been selling Nvidia stock throughout most of 2025, thanks in large part to uncertainty around new tariff policies and how they may impact Nvidia's ability to conduct business in China. Nevertheless, the company's forward price to earnings (P/E) multiple of 32.6 shows some clear valuation compression in the red-hot chip stock. I see the deal with OpenAI as a potential proxy for what's to come for Nvidia as Stargate and other AI infrastructure deals come to fruition. To me, the company's long-run prospects look as strong as ever -- despite some headwinds in key Asian markets for now. Investors with a long-run time horizon may want to consider scooping up shares of Nvidia right now, as the stock could witness a sharp rebound if it continues to win over more high-profile deals with AI's biggest developers. Should you invest $1,000 in Nvidia right now? 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Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hey Chat, how much do you cost the environment when you answer my questions?
Earlier this week, the United Arab Emirates became the world's first country to offer free access to ChatGPT Plus — the premium version of ChatGPT — to all its citizens. The premium version is faster and more consistent than the normal version; it also can hold voice conversations, upload and analyze your files, and generate its own images for your use. This is just the beginning for OpenAI, ChatGPT's parent company. OpenAI has announced intentions to partner with as many nations as possible through its 'OpenAI for Countries program.' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has already described the UAE project as a 'bold vision,' per Axios; wrapping artificial intelligence around the world would constitute an even bolder, more radical vision for a global population increasingly dependent on AI. But can the Earth take it? But there are concerns about the vast amounts of natural resources sucked up by AI, depleting reservoirs and requiring additional energy. Meanwhile, politicians, business leaders and climate advocates continue to grapple over the consequences. About 34% of Americans rely on AI to help them accomplish some of their day-to-day activities, per polling from tech monitor Elf Sight. That's evidence of the early adoption of AI — especially because ChatGPT, which marked the beginning of the widespread AI craze, only launched in 2022. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman became a billionaire in the following years. He was also a large donor to U.S. President Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and attended his inauguration. The day after the inauguration, he made a public statement thanking the president for investing $500 billion into 'Stargate,' which will develop AI infrastructure for the U.S. 'For (AI) to get built here, to create hundreds of thousands of jobs, to create a new industry centered here, we wouldn't be able to do this without you, Mr. President, and I'm thrilled that we get to,' Altman said, per ABC News. Since Inauguration Day, the Trump administration has poured hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding into Stargate, which is being co-developed by tech giants OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. Thousands of acres near Abilene, Texas, have been earmarked for development, according to The Dallas Express. There is no word yet on how Stargate might affect the state's energy grid — which failed during natural disasters last year, leaving thousands of Texans in temporary darkness — or how it might affect the environment of a state already 41% under drought. Nevertheless, many Texans and national leaders eagerly anticipate economic expansion. And they and the UAE (which is getting its own Stargate through its deal with OpenAI) aren't alone in the rush to AI. OpenAI says that, after its 'unprecedented investment' in American infrastructure, they have 'heard from many countries' petitioning them to integrate AI into their countries, too — meaning personalized digital servants tailored for regional dialects, government structures and social needs and customs. The OpenAI for Countries program is fit for them. But researchers say it may not be fit for the environment. 'Just because this is called 'cloud computing' doesn't mean the hardware lives in the cloud. Data centers (for AI) are present in our physical world ... they have direct and indirect implications for biodiversity,' said Noman Bashir, a climate researcher at MIT. Generative AI drinks a bottle of water per every 100-word email it writes. The electricity required by the massive machines powering programs like ChatGPT, Siri and Alexa is approaching levels equal to that of large countries like Russia, per research from MIT. ChatGPT alone daily uses enough electricity to power the Empire State Building — for a year and a half. Tremendous amounts of fossil fuels, including diesel and crude oil, go into training generative AI. And energy needs are only multiplying. The Harvard Business Review reports that data centers, or the physical facilities that hold information and communications systems (like the 900-acre facility planned for Stargate in Texas), are responsible for 2%-3% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The volume of data across the world doubles in size every two years. 'There is still much we don't know about the environmental impact of AI but some of the data we do have is concerning,' said Golestan Radwan, who heads a United Nations environment agency. 'We need to make sure the net effect of AI on the planet is positive before we deploy the technology at scale.' Radwan's agency recommends that countries begin tracking AI's environmental impact. At the moment, most countries have few, if any, standards for AI environmental output. They also encourage countries to establish sustainability regulations around AI. Finally, they urge tech companies to streamline their programs and begin recycling components and water. Canny AI researchers are already at work to develop 'green' AI — also known as sustainable or 'net zero' AI — that could minimize the carbon footprints left by generative AI as it sprints across the globe. But researchers also warn that green AI comes at the price of efficiency. The smarter the AI, the more energy it uses. Earlier in May, a Republican-led tax bill proposed barring states from regulating AI for the next 10 years. Last year, state legislatures across the country passed over 100 regulations surrounding AI; the tax bill would prevent state lawmakers from enforcing these regulations. 'We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it's taking off,' Vice President JD Vance told AI developers and regulators at a summit in Paris. 'And I'd like to see that deregulatory flavor making a lot of the conversations this conference.' Researchers at the Harvard Business Review recommend ways an individual can reduce their AI-created environmental impact. Use existing AI — don't make your own program. Creating and training AI programs requires vast amounts of energy. There are already a myriad of AI programs available, many for free, and many specific to certain businesses or regions to cater to their personal needs. Use AI only when you really need it. Machine learning models are excellent at helping scientists predict natural disasters and understand diseases. They are less valuable for providing answers, especially when answers are often hallucinated. Writing emails and asking questions of ChatGPT 'may be depleting the Earth's health more than ... helping its people,' say Harvard researchers. Use companies committed to using renewable energy for AI. Some companies are more energy-efficient than other companies. OpenAI plans to use solar energy to power Stargate. In a twist, Microsoft has committed to using AI to develop sustainable energy solutions.
Time of India
10 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Silicon Valley is at an inflection point
On his second day in office this year, President Trump underscored his unequivocal support for the tech industry. Standing at a lectern next to tech leaders, he announced the Stargate Project , a plan to pump $500 billion in private investment over four years into artificial intelligence infrastructure. For comparison: The Apollo mission, which sent the first men to the moon, spent around $300 billion in today's dollars over 13 years. Sam Altman , OpenAI's chief executive, played down the investment. "It sounds crazy big now," he said. "I bet it won't sound that big in a few years." In the decade that I have observed Silicon Valley — first as an engineer, then as a journalist — I've watched the industry shift into a new paradigm. Tech companies have long reaped the benefits of a friendly U.S. government, but in its early months the Trump administration has made clear that the state will now grant new firepower to the industry's ambitions. The Stargate announcement was just one signal. Another was the Republican tax bill that the House passed last week, which would ban states from regulating AI for the next 10 years. The leading AI giants are no longer merely multinational corporations; they are growing into modern-day empires. With the full support of the federal government, soon they will be able to reshape most spheres of society as they please, from the political to the economic to the production of science. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Empresas de Lages reduzem custos agora [Saiba mais] Sistema TMS embarcador Saiba Mais Undo When I took my first job in Silicon Valley 10 years ago, the industry's wealth and influence were already expanding. The tech giants had grandiose missions — take Google 's, to "organise the world's information" — which they used to attract young workers and capital investment. But with the promise of developing artificial general intelligence, or AGI, those grandiose missions have turned into civilising ones. Companies claim they will bring humanity into a new, enlightened age — that they alone have the scientific and moral clarity to control a technology that, in their telling, will usher us to hell if China develops it first. "AI companies in the U.S. and other democracies must have better models than those in China if we want to prevail," said Dario Amodei, chief executive of Anthropic, an AI start-up. This language is as far-fetched as it sounds, and Silicon Valley has a long history of making promises that never materialize. Yet the narrative that AGI is just around the corner and will usher in "massive prosperity," as Mr. Altman has written, is already leading companies to accrue vast amounts of capital, lay claim to data and electricity, and build enormous data centers that are accelerating the climate crisis. These gains will fortify tech companies' power and erode human rights long after the shine of the industry's promises wears off. Live Events The quest for A.G.I. is giving companies cover to vacuum up more data than ever before, with profound implications for people's privacy and intellectual property rights. Before investing heavily in generative AI, Meta had amassed data from nearly four billion accounts, but it no longer considers that enough. To train its generative AI models, the company has scraped the web with little regard for copyright and even considered buying up Simon & Schuster to meet the new data imperative. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories These developments are also convincing companies to escalate their consumption of natural resources. Early drafts of the Stargate Project estimated that its AI supercomputer could need about as much power as three million homes. And McKinsey now projects that by 2030, the global grid will need to add around two to six times the energy capacity it took to power California in 2022 to sustain the current rate of Silicon Valley's expansion. "In any scenario, these are staggering investment numbers," McKinsey wrote. One OpenAI employee told me that the company is running out of land and electricity. Meanwhile, there are fewer independent AI experts to hold Silicon Valley to account. In 2004, only 21 percent of people graduating from Ph.D. programs in artificial intelligence joined the private sector. In 2020, nearly 70 percent did, one study found. They've been won over by the promise of compensation packages that can easily rise over $1 million. This means that companies like OpenAI can lock down the researchers who might otherwise be asking tough questions about their products and publishing their findings publicly for all to read. Based on my conversations with professors and scientists, ChatGPT's release has exacerbated that trend — with even more researchers joining companies like OpenAI. This talent monopoly has reoriented the kind of research that's done in this field. Imagine what would happen if most climate science were done by researchers who worked in fossil fuel companies. That's what's happening with artificial intelligence. Already, AI companies could be censoring critical research into the flaws and risks of their tools. Four years ago, the leaders of Google's ethical AI team said they were ousted after they wrote a paper raising questions about the industry's growing focus on large language models, the technology that underpins ChatGPT and other generative AI products. These companies are at an inflection point. With Mr. Trump's election, Silicon Valley's power will reach new heights. The president named David Sacks, a billionaire venture capitalist and AI investor, as his AI czar, and empowered another tech billionaire, Elon Musk , to slash through the government. Mr. Trump brought a cadre of tech executives with him on his recent trip to Saudi Arabia. If Senate Republicans now vote to prohibit states from regulating AI for 10 years, Silicon Valley's impunity will be enshrined in law, cementing these companies' empire status. Their influence now extends well beyond the realm of business. We are now closer than ever to a world in which tech companies can seize land, operate their own currencies, reorder the economy and remake our politics with little consequence. That comes at a cost — when companies rule supreme, people lose their ability to assert their voice in the political process and democracy cannot hold. Technological progress does not require businesses to operate like empires. Some of the most impactful AI advancements came not from tech behemoths racing to recreate human levels of intelligence, but from the development of relatively inexpensive, energy-efficient models to tackle specific tasks such as weather forecasting. DeepMind's AlphaFold built a nongenerative AI model that predicts protein structures from their sequences — a function critical to drug discovery and understanding disease. Its creators were awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. AI tools that help everyone cannot arise from a vision of development that demands the capitulation of the majority to the self-serving agenda of the few. Transitioning to a more equitable and sustainable AI future won't be easy: It'll require everyone — journalists, civil society, researchers, policymakers, citizens — to push back against the tech giants, produce thoughtful government regulation wherever possible and invest more in smaller-scale AI technologies. When people rise, empires fall.
Axios
18 hours ago
- Business
- Axios
Behind the Curtain: The Great Fusing
America's government and technology giants are fusing into a codependent superstructure in a race to dominate AI and space for the next generation. Why it matters: The merging of Washington and Silicon Valley is driven by necessity — and fierce urgency. The U.S. government needs AI expertise and dominance to beat China to the next big technological and geopolitical shift — but can't pull this off without the help of Microsoft, Google, OpenAI, Nvidia and many others. These companies can't scale AI, and reap trillions in value, without government helping ease the way with more energy, more data, more chips and more precious minerals. These are the essential ingredients of superhuman intelligence. The big picture: Under President Trump, both are getting what they want, as reported by Axios' Zachary Basu: 1. The White House has cultivated a deep relationship with America's AI giants — championing the $500 billion "Stargate" infrastructure initiative led by OpenAI, Oracle, Japan's SoftBank, and the UAE's MGX. Trump was joined by top AI executives — including OpenAI's Sam Altman, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, Amazon's Andy Jassy and Palantir's Alex Karp — during his whirlwind tour of the Middle East this month. Trump sought to fuse U.S. tech ambitions with Gulf sovereign wealth, announcing a cascade of deals to bring cutting-edge chips and data centers to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Trump and his tech allies envision a geopolitical alliance to outpace China, flood the globe with American AI, and cement control over the energy and data pipelines of the future. 2. Back at home, the Trump administration is downplaying the risks posed by AI to American workers, and eliminating regulatory obstacles to quicker deployment of AI. Trump signed a series of executive orders last week to hasten the deployment of new nuclear power reactors, with the goal of quadrupling total U.S. nuclear capacity by 2050. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Congress that AI is "the next Manhattan Project" — warning that losing to China is "not an option" and that government must "get out of the way." The House version of Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill," which passed last week, would impose a 10-year ban on any state and local laws that regulate AI. AI companies big and small are winning the U.S. government's most lucrative contracts — especially at the Pentagon, where they're displacing legacy contractors as the beating heart of the military-industrial complex. Between the lines: Lost in the rush to win the AI arms race is any real public discussion of the rising risks. The risk of Middle East nations and companies, empowered with U.S. AI technology, helping their other ally, China, in this arms race. The possibility, if not likelihood, of massive white-collar job losses as companies shift from humans to AI agents. The dangers of the U.S. government becoming so reliant on a small set of companies. The vulnerabilities of private data on U.S. citizens. Zoom in: The Great Fusing has created a new class of middlemen — venture capitalists, founders and influencers who shuttle between Silicon Valley and Washington, shaping policy while still reaping tech's profits. Elon Musk could become the government's main supplier of space rockets, satellites, internet connectivity, robots and other autonomous technologies. And with what he's learned via DOGE, Musk's xAI is well-positioned to package AI products and then sell them back to the U.S. government. David Sacks, Trump's AI and crypto czar, acts as the premier translator between the two worlds — running point on policy, deals, and narrative through his government role, tech network, and popular "All-In" podcast. Marc Andreessen, whose VC firm Andreessen Horowitz has stakes in nearly every major AI startup, has been a chief evangelist of the pro-acceleration, anti-regulation doctrine at the core of Trump's AI agenda. Reality check: The Great Fusing has been led more by Silicon Valley iconoclasts (Musk) than the incumbent stalwarts (including Mark Zuckerberg), who have rushed to align with the emerging gravitational pull. Tech-education nexus: Silicon Valley, facing a new race for AI engineers, cheered during the campaign when Trump floated automatic green cards for foreign students who graduated from U.S. colleges. But so far, tech moguls have been relatively quiet as Trump halted all student visa interviews and tried to ban international matriculation to Harvard. New defense reality: Palantir, Anduril and other advanced defense tech companies have more Pentagon traction than ever, robotics companies are surging and entire industries are being born — including undersea drones and space-based weapons.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump Backs $500B Stargate Project, Transforming Abilene Into AI Epicenter
Abilene is quietly transforming from a quiet West Texas town into a potential global epicenter for artificial intelligence, thanks to the ambitious Stargate Project and President Donald Trump's backing. Stargate, a $500 billion plan led by tech heavyweights like OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank, hopes to redefine the future of AI while reshaping Texas' economic landscape. Following a White House meeting earlier this year, word surfaced that construction had already begun in remote parts of West Texas. Now, Trump has announced the monumental project alongside some of the most influential names in the AI industry. 'This will be the most important project of this era,' said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, during a 2025 White House visit. The main goal of the massive endeavor is allegedly to boost America's leadership in AI technology, and Abilene is already anticipating the benefits of being chosen as the headquarters for Stargate. This undertaking could bring tremendous economic opportunities—and huge pressure. The Stargate Project's data center is already under construction on a nearly 900-acre site near the city. Once completed, the facility is expected to house almost 4 million square feet of 'data center space' powered by around 1.2 gigawatts of electricity, per BusinessInsider, making it one of the largest AI-focused data centers in the world, if not the largest to date. To support the huge computing demands, Oracle plans to invest around $40 billion in acquiring 400,000 of Nvidia's latest GB200 chips – some of the most advanced technology in the modern computing era. These chips will likely be installed/used at the Abilene facility to provide the necessary power for 'advanced AI applications,' applications that could change our perception of technology as we know it. Local leaders of the small Texas city have already been vocally optimistic about all the economic benefits the Stargate Project will bring to West Texas. Stargate is expected to create numerous job opportunities and stimulate the local economy. Local media outlets, such as BigCountryHomepage, have already posted several high-paying job opportunities. According to the Development Corporation of Abilene, the City Council approved a tax abatement agreement that could grant Crusoe, the data center's developer, an 85% property tax break based on a minimum $2.4 billion investment in the area. $2.4 billion could do a lot for Abilene, a city with a listed population of around 130,000 by the 2024 census. To meet the other huge energy requirements the Stargate hub needs, plans are underway to construct an on-site natural gas plant capable of producing up to 360.5 megawatts of power, per BusinessInsider. The new facilities could provide both primary and backup power exclusively for the data center's needs, hopefully locking in a reliable energy supply for one of the biggest demands in Texas' history. 'AI holds incredible promise for all of us,' said Oracle founder Larry Ellison in January after a speech from Trump on Stargate. 'We've been working with OpenAI for awhile. The data centers are actually under construction, the first of them are under construction in Texas. Each building is half a million square feet. There are 10 buildings currently being built, but that will expand to 20 and other locations beyond the Abilene location, which is our first location,' Ellison added, per The Abilene Reporter News. There is no word yet on how Stargate will affect the state's energy grid, which has had Texans begging for more stability and consistency after recent storms, as The Dallas Express has consistently covered in the past.
