On Tuesday, President Donald Trump announced a major $500 billion private initiative called “Stargate” that aims to build an artificial intelligence infrastructure in the United States through a partnership between tech giants OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle.
Trump promised to kick-start the initiative through an executive action that would use emergency declarations to speed up production and simplify regulatory hurdles for participating companies.
“I’m going to help a lot through emergency declarations, because we have an emergency, we’ve got to get this built,” Trump said Tuesday. “So they have to produce a lot of power. And we want to enable them to do that production easily, at their own facilities, if they want to.”
Trump’s announcement came just hours after he signed an executive order titled “Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” that aimed to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs within federal agencies — while warning of future initiatives to to limit similar efforts in the private sector. The order directs federal agencies to end DEI-related mandates, policies and programs, calls such initiatives “discriminatory and illegal,” and it requires agencies to enforce civil rights laws to combat private-sector DEI preferences.
Despite the Trump administration’s sweeping actions against DEI, all three companies Trump announced as part of the Stargate initiative have touted DEI programs and remain publicly committed to DEI principles, according to the companies’ websites.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has a webpage titled “Commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion,” where the company highlights its DEI programs and its commitment to mitigating harmful biases in AI systems.
“Our investment in diversity, equity and inclusion is ongoing, delivered through a wide range of initiatives, owned by everyone across the company, and championed and supported by leadership,” the website states. “We take this work seriously and are committed to continuously improving our work to create a diverse, fair and inclusive organization.”
President Donald Trump, from left, speaks as SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son, Oracle Corporation chairman and chief technology officer Larry Ellison, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman listen in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on Jan. 21, 2025, in Washington, DC
Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP
SoftBank President and CEO Junichi Miyagawa has also touted DEI initiatives, saying in a 2021 post on the company’s website: “It is extremely important that we ensure diversity within the core staff involved in management.” In a 2024 filing, the company said “promoting diversity, equity and inclusion is an important management issue and we strive to foster a dynamic and vibrant organization that enables diverse members of our workforce to fully exercise their talents , regardless of age, gender, nationality or disability.”
Larry Ellison’s Oracle also promotes initiatives related to diversity and inclusion with a page on the company’s website titled “Culture and Inclusion Empowers Diversity.”
“If you ever wonder why diversity and inclusion matter, remember: It makes our teams stronger and our ideas better,” the page reads.
Representatives from OpenAI, SoftBank and Oracle did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment. A White House spokesman also did not respond.
Meanwhile, the Stargate deal has faced skepticism about its $500 billion price tag — including from Trump’s own adviser, billionaire Elon Musk.
In an overnight post on his social media platform X, Musk questioned OpenAI’s financial backing and later shared a post calling the $500 billion price tag “ridiculous” and saying “no one should take it seriously.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman responded to Musk’s comments on X, rejecting his claim that OpenAI lacks the funds for its investment in the Stargate project.
Altman called the claim “wrong” and described the deal as “good for the country.”
Altman also appeared to take a small jab at Musk, who now heads the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, stating, “I realize that what’s good for the country isn’t always what’s best for your companies .”
“But in your new role, I hope you’ll mostly put us first,” he added, using an American flag emoji.
The Stargate deal comes as other tech companies have pulled back their DEI initiatives ahead of the Trump administration’s actions.
Earlier this month, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta announced that it would end its major DEI programs effective immediately, including those related to hiring, training and vendor selection.
“The legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing,” Meta’s vice president of human resources, Janelle Gale, wrote in a memo obtained by ABC News.
“The United States Supreme Court has recently issued decisions that signal a shift in how courts will approach DEI. It reaffirms long-standing principles that discrimination should not be tolerated or promoted on the basis of inherent characteristics.”
Meanwhile, the Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday directed all federal agencies to place DEI office workers on paid leave by 1 p.m. 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, and to remove all public DEI-focused web pages by the same deadline.
Musk has long criticized DEI programs, writing in a post on X that “DEI is just another word for racism.”
“Shame on anyone who uses it,” Musk wrote.
