AI Endgame: Stargate & foreign ownership of AI infrastructure in the U.S.

Newsletter #22

Feb 21, 2025

https://debbiecoffey.substack.com/p/ai-endgame-stargate-and-foreign-ownership

By Debbie Coffey, AI Endgame

Many years ago, I was interested in finding out who owned major media companies, and I found a thick book that listed corporations that own other corporations. This book also named the corporate executives who were on the Board of Directors of other corporations. It was an eye-opener.

However, this was nothing compared to the tangled web of international corporations today.

The big AI companies partner with, and invest in each other’s companies (including datacenters, cloud, nuclear power, etc.). In addition to this, AI companies in the U.S. are bringing in partners from other countries.

To my readers in other countries, this may be happening in your country, too, so use this article as an example to consider similar concerns.

Stargate

On January 21, 2025, President Trump announced that top tech firms were creating a new company called Stargate, to expand “artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States.”

President Trump made the announcement at the White House, in the presence of Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI), Larry Ellison (Chairman of Oracle), and Masayoshi Son (CEO of SoftBank).

These companies formed Stargate LLC, incorporated in Delaware, and plan to invest an initial $500 billion in AI infrastructure to build new datacenters, to build or expand nuclear energy (to power the datacenters), and for water resources (to run the datacenters).

Although the Stargate “plan” itself is vague, SoftBank will have financial responsibility for Stargate. Masayoshi Son will be Stargate’s chairman. OpenAI will have operational responsibility.

And (oh, by the way), there was only a mere mention of a fourth partner, MGX, that will contribute funding to Stargate. MGX is an Emirati investment fund controlled by the government of Abu Dhabi. [1]

In addressing the vague plans for Stargate, my initial concern is that Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, will have operational responsibility for Stargate’s infrastructure, including nuclear power. Altman has been pushing us recklessly closer to AI superintelligence and the risk of human extinction. “Infrastructure” will include the nuclear power needed to run new big datacenters, begging the question: What does Sam Altman know about nuclear safety?

I also want to note that right after President Trump’s announcement regarding Stargate, Oracle’s stock jumped from $205 billion to $217 billion. Oracle made $12 billion. Larry Ellison has a 41% stake in Oracle and is the company’s largest shareholder. [2] This means that Ellison pocketed about $5 billion. So, in about one day, in one deal, Ellison made more than the gross national product (GNP) of many countries. [3]

It’s hard for the average hard-working person to even imagine this kind of wealth. Or to grasp the extent of power and influence this money can wield.

Well, we’re seeing this now with Elon Musk. He has taken over our government and Congress is, at best, feckless.

Stargate’s first datacenter will be located in Abilene, Texas, with SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle and MGX as initial equity funders and Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA and OpenAI named as tech partners. [4]

Since these are only the initial funders and tech partners, will there be additional funders and tech partners in the future?

One of the tech partners, Arm, makes chips. (A semiconductor “chip” processes data, rapidly calculating billions of results. Chip technology enables datacenter servers to function.) [5] Masayoshi Son also happens to be the Chairman of the Board of Arm. [6] So, Masayoshi Son will profit in more ways than one from Stargate.

The initial plans for Stargate were first reported by tech news The Information in March 2024, when OpenAI and Microsoft started developing a $100 billion AI supercomputer. [7]

Is Stargate also going to build a supercomputer they forgot to mention in the announcement with President Trump? This would really fuel Sam Altman’s ambitions to win the race to be first to develop AI superintelligence.

Who is buying, (and owning), AI infrastructure in the U.S.? Let’s follow the money.

Masayoshi Son

Masayoshi Son, a Japanese entrepreneur and investor, is worth an estimated $33 billion. [8] Son lives in a $50 million house in Tokyo, Japan.

Son was born in Japan, then moved to San Francisco in 1974, when he was 17, and soon after, studied computer science and economics at U.C. Berkeley. In 2019, Fast Company called Son, who had ties to Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, and Rupert Murdoch, "the most powerful person in Silicon Valley.” Son has been a big proponent of AI, and has invested billions in AI, including investing in OpenAI.

SoftBank

Son founded SoftBank in the 1980’s. [9]

The top 10 shareholders of SoftBank are listed as: Masayoshi Son, The Master Trust Bank of Japan, Ltd. (Trust Account), Custody Bank of Japan, Ltd. (Trust Account), JP Morgan Chase Bank, State Street Bank West, HSBC Hong Kong-Treasury Services A/C Asian Equities Derivatives, Son Corporation LLC, State Street Bank and Trust Company, Son Assets Management, LLC, and the government of Norway. [10]

Through SoftBank and its $100 billion Vision Fund, Son has invested millions in some of Silicon Valley's biggest tech companies, including Uber, Slack, Amazon, Tesla, Netflix, DoorDash, and Chinese tech giant Alibaba.

Digging a little deeper, here’s the kicker: Masayoshi Son has also received financial backing from Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is the SoftBank Vision Fund's largest backer, contributing $45 billion of the Vision Fund's $100 billion. [11]

Wasn’t Son concerned about the news that journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a columnist for the Washington Post, was murdered (and then dismembered) by a Mohammed bin Salman hit squad in 2018? The New York Times reported that the Saudi government engaged in an extensive effort to cover up the killing, including destroying evidence.The CIA concluded that bin Salman had ordered the murder. Surprisingly (or not) President Trump has expressed support for bin Salman.

I read an article last week stating that Saudi Arabia was investing $14.9 billion in AI in order to become a key global leader in AI. This article didn’t even add in the $45 billion Saudi Arabia had already invested in the Vision Fund. [12]

MGX

MGX is a $100 billion artificial intelligence-focused investment firm founded by the sovereign wealth fund of the United Arab Emirates (Mubadala) and an Abu Dhabi based AI company G42. MGX plans to contribute about $7 billion to Stargate. [13]

MGX was established in 2024, and last September, MGX signed another partnership deal to build datacenters with Microsoft, BlackRock, and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). [14]

G42 investors include Microsoft and Silver Lake, a technology investment firm.

No way to gate crash Stargate

When companies “invest” in Stargate, they buy and own whatever Stargate owns.

This means Stargate’s Sam Altman (OpenAI), Larry Ellison (Oracle), Masayoshi Son (Softbank) and MGX (controlled by the government of Abu Dhabi), will own a huge swath of datacenters, nuclear energy and water resources within the U.S.

Stargate will make decisions about what infrastructure to build, and how this AI infrastructure will be used.

We’re already seeing the power and influence that the AI oligarchs have over our politicians and government. Imagine how Stargate will wield power over a U.S. government that is dependent on its important AI infrastructure down the road.

The corporations that control this infrastructure in the U.S. have a primary goal to earn the maximum profit, so their interests might not align with what is best for the American taxpayer.

Years ago, I attended a water rights meeting in Nevada to learn more about a mining company (with ties to a company controlled by the government of China) that was trying to obtain water rights for a mine. Farmers and ranchers were also at the meeting because they were concerned water rights for mining use might siphon away the water they needed. When a representative of the mining company walked in, I noticed he was wearing the fanciest shoes I had ever seen (and I lived near Beverly Hills). Then, I happened to glance down at the work boots the farmers were wearing. I knew who I trusted in this debate.

So, as you listen to the slick PR and flowery promises that big multinational AI corporations are making, remember to listen to the warnings of groups like PauseAI and the Center for Humane Technology. You can trust these groups.