Meta is making its first major minority investment in an outside company as it tries to catch up to a growing field of artificial intelligence rivals.

Forward-looking: Oracle has committed to spending approximately $40 billion on Nvidia's latest high-performance chips to power a massive new data center in Abilene, Texas. The facility will require up to 1.2 gigawatts of power once fully operational and serves as the flagship site of the Stargate project – a $500 billion initiative led by OpenAI and SoftBank to reshape the landscape of AI computing in the United States and beyond. The facility will cover eight buildings across 875 acres. Crusoe Energy Systems and Blue Owl Capital raised $15 billion in debt and equity to finance the buildout. JPMorgan played a key role by providing $9.6 billion in loans, including a recently announced $7.1 billion tranche. When crews complete construction, the Texas facility will be one of the world's largest data centers when it opens in mid-2026. OpenAI has entered into a 15-year lease for the entire campus, which insiders told the Financial Times would run on roughly 400,000 Nvidia GB200 superchips. The data center will serve as a critical platform for OpenAI's AI model training and deployment, marking a crucial step in diversifying its computing resources and reducing reliance on Microsoft, its primary infrastructure provider until now. The exclusivity agreement between OpenAI and Microsoft concluded earlier this year, as OpenAI's demand for computing power surpassed Microsoft's available capacity. While negotiations continue regarding the duration of Microsoft's licensing rights to OpenAI's models, this development marks a significant shift toward diversified cloud partnerships for the AI leader. While Stargate has yet to directly invest capital in any data center beyond the Texas site, its global expansion plans are already taking shape, with additional deployments being considered in Europe and Asia. The scale and speed of these investments underscore the intensifying competition among technology companies and nations to build the backbone for the next generation of artificial intelligence. // Related Stories The Stargate project is ambitious in scale and vision. Backed by OpenAI, SoftBank, Oracle, and Abu Dhabi's MGX, the group plans to invest up to $500 billion over four years to build a national network of AI supercomputing centers. The first $100 billion will fund up to 20 sites, starting with the Texas facility. Sources say that SoftBank and OpenAI will each hold a 40 percent stake in the venture, making them the primary equity holders. Oracle and MGX, a state-owned investment firm from the United Arab Emirates, have committed $7 billion each. SoftBank will oversee finances, while OpenAI leads operations. OpenAI and its partners plan to expand Stargate beyond the US, starting with a 10-square-mile AI campus developed alongside Emirati tech firm G42 in Abu Dhabi. The site could consume up to 5GW of power – more than four times the Texas center – and eventually house over two million of Nvidia's most advanced chips. The UAE project, announced during President Donald Trump's recent Gulf visit, forms part of OpenAI's "OpenAI for Countries" initiative to help governments build sovereign AI infrastructure. Masthead credit: Financial Times

Menu Home News Hardware Gaming Mobile Finance Deals Reviews How To Wccftech Mobile Foxconn Pours $1.5 Billion Into India As Apple Quietly Prepares To Shift iPhone Production Away From China Amid Growing U.S. Tariff Pressures And Supply Chain Challenges Ali Salman • May 20, 2025 at 12:01am EDT Apple has been dealing with a tariff situation imposed by the Trump administration in recent days, and it has stirred up the company's supply chain to a greater degree. While the company is seeking amendments in the percentages, Chinese suppliers have taken the most hit with a massive 125 percent reciprocal tax. The U.S. government wants Apple to move production of its products to the United States, which is one of the reasons why a hefty tax was put in place. It is now being reported that the iPhone manufacturer Foxconn has invested a massive $1.5 billion into India to bolster production away from China. Apple is shifting iPhone production to India as Foxconn invests $1.5 billion amid rising tariffs on China Bloomberg reports that in order to move production away from China, the iPhone manufacturer has invested a whopping $1.5 billion in India. Foxconn has been actively expanding its production facilities for iPhone manufacturing, and the investment was seen in a stock exchange filing. In an attempt to move away from China, the supplier is also expanding its footprint in the United States. Apple is forced to move its production away from China with heavy import taxes right around the curb, and Foxconn's decision to move its production could be extremely important for what's to come. Even though the U.S. government has imposed a tax on imports from China, India also faces the same fate. However, the taxes on imports from India are far less than those of China, making it an emerging market for suppliers to step in and set a footing in the region. Apple has already begun iPhone manufacturing in India, with the company assembling over $22 billion worth of units in the region in the last 12 months. The number was 60 percent higher than the previous year, which only goes on to show that the company is heavily invested in increasing its presence on Indian soil. Foxconn is not the only manufacturer to have secured a spot in India, but Tata Electronics and Pegatron also operate their facilities in the region for iPhone manufacturing. By 2026, Apple aims to manufacture most of the iPhones in India that will be sold in the United States. However, the higher-end iPhone models that are slated to launch this year or the next are expected to be manufactured in China due to a more complex design. Moreover, China has the upper hand when it comes to manufacturing technology and Apple would not risk it for its 20th anniversary iPhone. It remains to be seen when Apple will completely ship away from China for iPhone manufacturing. Subscribe to get an everyday digest of the latest technology news in your inbox Follow us on Topics Sections Company Some posts on wccftech.com may contain affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com © 2025 WCCF TECH INC. 700 - 401 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Welcome back to our Sunday edition, where we round up some of our top stories and take you inside our newsroom. If you're lucky enough to receive a lump sum of cash, it might be tempting to take the trip that's been on your bucket list. But if you want to take the responsible route, BI broke down how to manage a windfall that includes age, risk factors, and financial goals.On the agenda today:Why Microsoft is flattening its management layers.HBO Max is mocking itself with memes as it rebrands … again.The Seed 100: Here are the best early-stage investors of 2025.Goldman Sachs is leaning into AI. Here's what we know about five of its tools.But first: Let's talk tariffs.If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Business Insider's app here.This week's dispatch Mint Images/Getty Images/Mint Images RF 'A lose-lose situation'There are a few ways to think about President Donald Trump's trade deal with China.For one, Wall Street loves it. Stocks recovered their "Liberation Day" losses. Fears of an imminent recession, at least viewed through the lens of the betting markets, have already started to subside.But the real-world ripple effects of the current tariff situation are far less clear-cut. Friday's downbeat consumer sentiment data, the second-worst reading on record, showed just how gloomy people feel right now.Consider how a range of businesses — big and small — reacted in the aftermath of the 90-day pause on higher tariffs with China.Retail titan Walmart said it will raise prices in light of Trump's tariffs. John David Rainey, Walmart's chief financial officer, told CNBC, "the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb."Toy maker Hasbro abruptly reversed course on its decision to raise prices and halt some production following Monday's deal, but the future isn't clear. Gina Goetter, Hasbro's chief financial officer, said at a conference, "every day is a new adventure."And for small businesses, planning ahead during this rapidly changing global landscape is proving to be particularly difficult.One small-business owner quantified the tariff impact. Jamey Stegmaier told BI he worries they could put his board game company, Stonemaier Games, out of business.If the full 145% tariffs had remained in effect, he'd need to raise the price of his Wingspan game, which sells for $65, to close to $200."No one would buy it," he said.He'd love to move production to the US to avoid tariffs. However, the US doesn't have the infrastructure or expertise he said he needs.The current US-China trade agreement also isn't a complete relief. The 30% tariffs are "still painful," Stegmaier added.Ultimately, the unpredictability surrounding Trump's tariff policy means customers could start seeing higher prices across the board."There's no math that makes it work," Stegmaier said. "There's no silver lining. It's a lose-lose-lose situation for everyone involved."Microsoft's bid to flatten management Satya Nadella (right) celebrates Microsoft's 50 year anniversary with Steve Ballmer (center) and Bill Gates (left) Jeffrey Dastin/REUTERS Microsoft is axing 6,000 jobs to increase "span of control," or the number of employees reporting to each manager. The cuts come as the tech giant reduces costs and invests heavily in AI.The half-dozen Microsoft insiders whom BI spoke to about the cuts see the effort as a good thing.Also read:Max is roasting its own rebrand Turning HBO in to HBO Max and then Max and now HBO Max is pretty funny — something the streaming service is acknowledging itself by distributing this meme to the media. Warner Bros. Discovery The streamer is tacking "HBO" back onto its name after abandoning it in 2023. That may seem a bit ridiculous, and Max is well aware. Instead of being laughed at, Max is opting to laugh with the internet.The social team at Warner Bros. Discovery cooked up a host of memes for the occasion. BI's Dan Whateley broke down why silliness, rather than sincerity, could be the right move.Also read:The top 100 early-stage investors of 2025 Courtesy of Ben Ling, Ann DeWitt, Meltem Demirors, Kevin Mahaffey, Alexis Ohanian, Ava Horton/BI Seed-stage investors reach for their checkbooks after hearing merely the kernel of an idea. They may have the hardest job in VC.Back for its fifth year, BI's Seed 100 list uses Termina's data analysis to identify and honor these dealmakers. Their interests span tech, from defense to consumer.Also read:Five tools in Goldman's AI arsenal Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI The bank's tech chief once said AI would be as ubiquitous as email, with 100% of the workforce relying on it. With Goldman Sachs' up-and-coming slate of AI tools, the bank appears to be on track.BI kept tabs on the rollout of these resources, ranging from an AI assistant to a translation tool.This week's quote:"These days Gates looks like a sage compared to Musk and compared to the administration."— Michael Morris, a professor at the Columbia Business School, on both Elon Musk's and Bill Gates' approach to efficiency.More of this week's top reads:How to get a job in the booming business of secondaries.We found 200 "podcasts" peddling opioids. Now Spotify is taking them down.Meet the CEOs behind YouTube's biggest stars.Please, kids: Do not set your Chromebook on fire.Hulk Hogan's beer brand is eyeing a takeover of the Hooters name.Why Citadel Securities is training its developers on a coding language that hasn't even been released yet.Meta's Llama has reached a turning point with developers as delays and disappointment mount.Brevan Howard hires longtime JPMorgan dealmaker Carlos Hernandez as its first executive chair.In a chilly funding market, a VC explains why legal tech is "as hot as you can humanly imagine."The BI Today team: Dan DeFrancesco, deputy editor and anchor, in New York. Grace Lett, editor, in Chicago. Amanda Yen, associate editor, in New York. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York. Elizabeth Casolo, fellow, in Chicago.