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Saudi Arabia will invest more than $600bn in the United States, the Crown Prince told Donald Trump in a phone call. The investment is to take place for more than four years in the Unitd States for $600bn.
Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, held a phone call evening with President Donald J. Trump of the United States of America.
During the call, the Crown Prince conveyed the congratulations of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his own congratulations to the President on the occasion of his inauguration as President of the United States.
Saudi plans US investments
He also wished the friendly American people more progress and prosperity under the President’s leadership.
The two leaders discussed ways for cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America to promote peace, security and stability in the Middle East, in addition to enhancing bilateral cooperation to combat terrorism.
The leaders also discussed ways to enhance bilateral ties in various areas, and the Crown Prince noted the US administration’s ability to create unprecedented economic prosperity and opportunity through anticipated reforms in the United States.
He added that the Kingdom seeks to participate in these opportunities for partnership and investment.
The Crown Prince affirmed the Kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600bn, and potentially beyond that which then were announced as an AI investstment by the White House.
The President expressed his appreciation and thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Highness the Crown Prince for their congratulations, and affirmed his keenness to work with the Kingdom on all that benefits the interests of both countries.
Trump Announces Private-Sector $500 billion Investment In AI Infrastructure
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced a private sector investment of up to $500 billion to fund infrastructure for artificial intelligence, aiming to outpace rival nations in the business-critical technology.
Trump said that ChatGPT’s creator OpenAI, SoftBank (9984.T), opens new tab and Oracle (ORCL.N), The Saudi investment opens new tab planning a joint venture called Stargate on behalf of them, which he said will build data centers and create more than 100,000 jobs in the United States.
These companies, along with other equity backers of Stargate, have committed $100 billion for immediate deployment, with the remaining investment expected to occur over the next four years. The residual of Saudi investment which is $600 billion is of $100 billion which will be for Stargate.
SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Oracle Chairman Larry Ellison joined Trump at the White House for the launch.
The first of the project’s data centers are already under construction in Texas, Ellison said at the press conference. Twenty will be built, half a million square feet each, he said. The project could power AI that analyzes electronic health records and helps doctors care for their patients, Ellison said.
The executives gave Trump credit for the news. “We wouldn’t have decided to do this,” Son told Trump, “unless you won.”
“For AGI to get built here,” said Altman, referring to more powerful technology called artificial general intelligence, “we wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Mr. President.”
It was not immediately clear whether the announcement was an update to a previously reported venture.
In March 2024, The Information, a technology news website, reported OpenAI and Microsoft were working on plans for the Saudi $100 billion data center project that would include an artificial intelligence supercomputer also called “Stargate” set to launch in 2028.
POWER-HUNGRY DATA CENTERS
The announcement on Trump’s second day in office follows the rolling back of former President Joe Biden’s executive order on AI, that was intended to reduce the risks that AI poses to consumers, workers and national security.
AI requires enormous computing power, pushing demand for specialized data centers that enable tech companies to link thousands of chips together in clusters.
“They have to produce a lot of electricity, and we’ll make it possible for them to get that production done very easily at their own plants if they want,” Trump said.
As U.S. power consumption rises from AI data centers and the electrification of buildings and transportation, about half of the country is at increased risk of power supply shortfalls in the next decade, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation said in December.
Investment in AI has surged since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, as companies across sectors have sought to integrate artificial intelligence into their products and services.
