Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella addressed Elon Musk’s scepticism about the Stargate project’s funding on Thursday. As a primary technology partner, Nadella confirmed Microsoft’s commitment to invest $80 billion in developing its Azure cloud computing infrastructure.
The discussion emerged after Donald Trump’s Tuesday announcement of a collaborative venture between OpenAI, SoftBank, and Oracle to develop AI infrastructure. Trump said at the White House that the initiative, named Stargate, “will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States.”
Elon Musk, known for his close association with Trump, expressed doubts about the funding capabilities. “They don’t actually have the money,” he posted on X, adding, “SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority.”
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman countered Musk’s assertions, inviting him to visit the initial site already under construction. He said, “This is great for the country. I realize what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role I hope you’ll mostly put us first.”
In a CNBC interview, Nadella affirmed, “I am good for my $80 billion. I am going to spend $80 billion building out Azure. Customers can count on Microsoft with OpenAI models being there everywhere in the world, serving OpenAI models and other models.”
When this interview segment appeared on X, Musk shared it and commented, “On the other hand, Satya definitely does have the money.”
Nadella replied with a laughing emoticon, saying “All this money is not about hyping AI, but is about building useful things for the real world!”
To this, Musk reacted with a smiling emoticon.
The Stargate Project, structured as a new organisation, aims to invest $500 billion across four years in AI infrastructure development. While SoftBank oversees financial aspects, OpenAI manages operations, with Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, Oracle, and OpenAI serving as primary technology partners.
