SoftBank, OpenAIs $100B investment delayed due to tariffs: report

SoftBank and OpenAI’s plan to “immediately” invest $100 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure in the US as part of the much-hyped Stargate project has faced months of delays due to fears that President Trump’s tariffs could send costs soaring, according to a report.Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Japan-based Softbank, and OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman had promised during a White House briefing a day after Trump‘s inauguration to deploy $100 billion and raise that figure to $500 billion over the next four years.The two companies reportedly held early-stage talks with dozens of lenders and alternative asset managers, including Mizuho, JPMorgan, Apollo Global Management and Brookfield Asset Management.But there have not been any deals completed as steep tariffs and warnings of a recession have investors shying away from costly data center projects, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.SoftBank and OpenAI did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.The import taxes could hike costs to build data centers by 5% to 15%, according to TD Cowen analysis led by Michael Elias.Trump has touted Stargate as an example of an influx of US investments under his leadership.The project intends to build up to 20 massive data centers across the country.SoftBank, which is in charge of Stargate’s financing, has built a team of 20 to 30 people to expedite the project, sources told Bloomberg.

It is also backed by Oracle and MGX. However, China’s DeepSeek AI model – which it claims took relatively little time and funding to get off the ground – has left Wall Street questioning whether multi-million dollar data center ventures are worth it.Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update.

Please provide a valid email address.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story.There has been some progress made on Stargate from plans made...