Trump Unveils $70 Billion AI and Energy Investment Plan in Pennsylvania

President Donald Trump announced a monumental $70 billion investment in artificial intelligence and energy initiatives during a speech at the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University on Tuesday. Joined by Republican Senator David McCormick of Pennsylvania, who hosted the event, Trump outlined the ambitious “Trump AI & Energy Initiative,” branded as “America First 2.0,” a key promise from his 2024 campaign.

The initiative, which requires no federal appropriations, leverages private capital alongside fast-track permitting and tax credits from the 2024 CREATE Act (Creating Rapid Energy & AI Terminals & Equipment Act). The plan aims to bolster American technological and energy independence, with investments spanning data centers, chip manufacturing, and energy infrastructure across multiple states.

Key Investments and Projects of the Initiative

Stargate, Texas, will see $70 billion in confirmed investments, with potential for $500 billion, from major players like OpenAI (Sam Altman), SoftBank (Masayoshi Son), Oracle (Larry Ellison), and Abu Dhabi’s MGX, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoun. The project in Texas includes:

• Construction of 10 new data centers, creating 5,000 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent high-skill tech jobs, prioritizing American workers over H-1B visas.

• On-site NuScale mini-nuclear reactors, manufactured in Idaho, will power the facilities with reliable, American-made energy.

• Groundbreaking for the first phase is set for September 30, 2025, with the first NVIDIA Grace-Hopper racks installed by Q1 2026. All Phase-1 commitments are expected to be operational by 2028.

• Fiber & Cooling Super-Spine $3.5 billion investment, including $1.5 billion from Lumen’s equity and $2 billion in Texas-issued industrial revenue bonds, will create a 150-terabit-per-second fiber backbone to support AI operations. This infrastructure ensures that AI capabilities are not bottlenecked by connectivity limitations, with the backbone expected to be operational by Q1 2026.

Chip Manufacturing in Arizona and Kentucky

Samsung and Arm are investing $8 billion in advanced chip packaging facilities to reduce reliance on Chinese manufacturing. SK Hynix is committing $6.7 billion to produce HBM4 memory, critical for AI applications, further strengthening domestic semiconductor production.

American Energy Dominance  

Venture Global’s $10 billion LNG plant in Louisiana will cater to global energy demands, positioning the U.S. as a leading exporter. Shell and Formosa’s $12 billion petrochemical hub will convert Permian Basin gas into plastics, thereby reducing the country's dependence on foreign suppliers.

Summit Highlights and Attendees

The Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit drew approximately 60 executives from leading AI and energy firms, including BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Palantir’s Alex Karp, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, Exxon Mobil’s Darren Woods, and Chevron’s Mike Wirth. The event underscored the private sector’s commitment to Trump’s vision of American-led innovation and energy dominance.

Trump’s Vision for A Break from Globalism and American Energy Independence

President Trump emphasized the initiative’s focus on American workers, energy, and technology. “We are going to be touting numbers like no one has ever seen before…Trillions of dollars are being made on AI,” Trump declared before departing the White House for the summit in Pittsburgh.

Trump positioned the initiative as a rejection of globalist policies, prioritizing domestic nuclear and natural gas energy over “bird-choppers and Chinese batteries.” Trump's initiative marks a significant step toward reindustrializing the US, with Trump’s administration betting on private-sector innovation and reducing regulations to secure America’s leadership in AI and energy for decades to come.