OpenAI's Altman Envisions Stargate-like Program for Europe

Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, takes part in a panel discussion on artificial intelligence at the Technical University Berlin, in Berlin, Germany, February 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, takes part in a panel discussion on artificial intelligence at the Technical University Berlin, in Berlin, Germany, February 7, 2025. (Reuters)
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OpenAI's Altman Envisions Stargate-like Program for Europe

Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, takes part in a panel discussion on artificial intelligence at the Technical University Berlin, in Berlin, Germany, February 7, 2025. (Reuters)
Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, takes part in a panel discussion on artificial intelligence at the Technical University Berlin, in Berlin, Germany, February 7, 2025. (Reuters)

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Friday signaled willingness to bring a Stargate-like artificial intelligence program to Europe, saying his company would "love" to do a Stargate Europe.

Stargate is a US venture launched by US President Donald Trump that involves backers like OpenAI, Softbank and Oracle. Up to $500 billion will be invested in AI infrastructure over the next five years.

"We need help," Altman told students at a panel discussion at the Technical University of Berlin, stressing that it would be up to Europeans to decide how they want to set their rules for AI technology. "We'll obviously comply with whatever they are," said Altman. According to Altman, it would be in Europe's best interest to adopt AI and not lag behind the rest of the world.

OpenAI will open a new office in Munich, Germany, as part of its European expansion plans, the company announced in a press release. "Opening our first office in Germany means we can help even more people, businesses, institutions benefit from AI’s possibilities," said Altman.

OpenAI has expanded to the European continent in recent years, announcing offices in Dublin and London in 2023 and two additional ones in Paris and Brussels in 2024.

On Monday, Altman is expected to attend an AI summit in Paris, which will also be attended by several European heads of state and other government officials.



Meta Makes Huge Cloud Computing Deal with Google

(FILES) A photograph taken during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 19, 2025, shows the logo of Meta, the US company that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) A photograph taken during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 19, 2025, shows the logo of Meta, the US company that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
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Meta Makes Huge Cloud Computing Deal with Google

(FILES) A photograph taken during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 19, 2025, shows the logo of Meta, the US company that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) A photograph taken during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on January 19, 2025, shows the logo of Meta, the US company that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Meta has made a cloud computing deal with Google worth more than $10 billion over the course of six years, a source close to the transaction told AFP Thursday.

The source confirmed a report at tech news outlet The Information about the arrangement, which will include Meta using Google datacenter servers, storage, networking and other services.

Meta declined to comment.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has embarked on a major artificial intelligence spending spree, poaching top researchers with expensive pay packages from rivals like OpenAI and Apple as he builds a team to pursue what he calls AI superintelligence.

"I'm excited to build personal superintelligence for everyone in the world," Zuckerberg said in an earnings call late last month.

Meta is locked in a bitter rivalry with other tech behemoths as they invest heavily in AI, said AFP.

The deal with Meta is among the biggest in the 17-year history of Google's cloud unit, according to the source.

Google parent Alphabet's cloud computing business was on pace to bring in $50 billion over the course of the year, the company said in a recent earnings report.

Meta also reported robust second-quarter financial results, and significantly increased its capital expenditures to $17 billion in the quarter, primarily for AI infrastructure investments.

Meta projected total 2025 capital spending between $66 billion and $72 billion.

A strong quarter "won't shield Meta from questions concerning the company's future as it breathlessly tries to keep up in the AI race," Emarketer analyst Minda Smiley said of the quarterly earnings.

In a post outlining Meta's AI strategy, Zuckerberg has signaled that the remainder of the decade would be a transformative period for artificial intelligence development and that the company's priority was to bring AI to its users.