At the White House, flanked by the leaders of three major companies, U.S. President Donald Trump called the AI initiative a "resounding declaration of confidence in America's potential."
OpenAI has long advocated for significant investments in infrastructure to support AI and has pushed for government backing of these efforts.
The collaboration between OpenAI and Softbank, known as Stargate, aims to invest up to $500 billion over the next four years.
OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, referred to the project as "the most important project of this era" and expressed gratitude to President Trump, even though work on the initiative had already begun.
The plan, which includes building AI infrastructure like data centers, is expected to create over 100,000 jobs, according to Trump.
Larry Ellison, Oracle's chief technology officer, mentioned that the first data centers are being built in Texas, with more planned for other locations.
The Information, a tech news site, first reported on the project in March of the previous year.
OpenAI stated that the announcement of the new company, which also involves UAE-backed investor MGX, represents the culmination of over a year of discussions.
Other partners include tech giants Microsoft, Arm, and NVIDIA, according to statements from Softbank and OpenAI.
OpenAI sparked the AI race in 2022 with the release of ChatGPT, which demonstrated the rapid progress of AI technology by providing lifelike responses to questions.
This launch triggered a wave of investments, including in the specialized data centers needed to support AI computing.
However, the projected demand for these centers, which will require significant energy and financial investment, has raised concerns about energy supply impacts and the role of foreign investors.
In one of his final actions as president, Joe Biden introduced rules to restrict the export of AI-related chips to numerous countries, aiming to strengthen U.S. control over the industry. He also issued orders regarding data center development on government land, emphasizing the importance of clean energy.
These latest investment plans align with broader trends in the industry.
Microsoft, a major backer of OpenAI, announced earlier this month that it plans to invest $80 billion in AI-powered data centers this year. The company is also involved in a $100 billion venture with BlackRock focused on AI data center investments.
Amazon has also been heavily investing, revealing two projects worth around $10 billion each in just the past two months.
A McKinsey report last year predicted that global demand for data center capacity will more than triple by 2030, growing annually by 19% to 27%.
To meet this demand, McKinsey estimates that developers will need to build at least double the capacity constructed since 2000 by 2030.
However, analysts have warned that challenges like power and land limitations, along with permitting issues, could slow down the process.