U.S. President Trump gestures as Open AI CEO Sam Altman delivers a speech in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on January 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Jim Watson | AFP | Getty Images
Before officially taking office as president, Donald Trump OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had a lengthy conversation on Friday discussing the potential of artificial intelligence and the need to develop the technology in the United States, CNBC has learned.
During the chat, Trump was particularly enthusiastic about building artificial intelligence here rather than developing it in China and what that would mean for job creation and U.S. confidence in his government, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversation was private.
After Trump was inaugurated on Monday, the president quickly began touting the importance of artificial intelligence. He announced on Tuesday that he Open artificial intelligence, Oracle and SoftBank Invest billions of dollars AI OpenAI’s involvement is notable because Altman is in the midst of a Tesla CEO MuskHe is the largest financial supporter of Trump’s 2024 campaign and an advisor. He co-founded the non-profit organization OpenAI in 2015.
Musk quickly weaken The newly announced project is called Stargate, and “they literally don’t have the money” to back their $500 billion commitment, he wrote in a post on X. He added that “according to reliable sources” he knew that SoftBank “has secured well under $10B in guarantees.”
Altman responded Wednesday morning, writing on Microsoft “All I know is I feel good about my $80 billion,” Chief Executive Satya Nadella told CNBC, referring to his company’s plans to invest in artificial intelligence this year center plan. Microsoft is OpenAI’s main financial backer.
Musk leads Trump’s new administration efficiency advisory committee Sue OpenAI Trying to prevent its transformation into a for-profit entity. The two sides have argued in court documents and in public. in a blog post In December, OpenAI wrote that in 2017, Musk “not only wanted, but actually created a for-profit” as the company’s proposed new structure. OpenAI released screenshots of Musk’s emails to support its claims.
Although Altman’s relationship with Musk has been strained, the OpenAI CEO remains in contact with the Oracle CEO Larry EllisonSources say he is a loyal Trump supporter, which helps his standing among the president’s team. Oracle and OpenAI reached a cloud computing partnership in June.
Another source said Altman also has a close relationship with SoftBank Chief Executive Masayoshi Son. Before the Stargate announcement, Son publicly pledged to invest $100 billion in the United States, and SoftBank also backed OpenAI.
watch: President Trump discusses investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure
