Elon Musk may be right about funding Stargate. For those of you who haven’t heard of Stargate (perhaps because you’re paying attention to the important stuff), the company has announced that it will be “developing new AI infrastructure (data centers) for OpenAI in the U.S.” “We’re going to invest $500 billion over four years.” ”
It was announced at a White House press event on Tuesday, with reporters calling it “Trump’s ambitious AI infrastructure venture.” The president gave the project his blessing but did not provide government funding.
Also appearing at the event were our partners in the venture: Oracle CTO/Chairman/Co-Founder Larry Ellison, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Of the three, only Mr. Ellison currently runs a profitable company. However, Oracle is only participating as a technology partner. Son famously lost $14 billion in funding to WeWork and is in charge of its finances.
Immediately after announcing the project, Mr. Musk tweeted (cancelled?) the following: “They don’t actually have the money. SoftBank has set aside well under $10 billion, which I have on good authority.” He countered that the plan was to invest in Softbank and OpenAI have both “committed” $19 billion to Stargate, so there’s no reason to think that money won’t be “deployed.”
To raise the remaining funds, SoftBank will need to take a “combination of large-scale financing, new debt, or selling some of its stake,” according to the Wall Street Journal. . One of the big questions for investors is how will Stargate make money?
So, here’s a roundup of this week’s AI-powered martech news and releases.
Act-On Software has entered into an agreement to be acquired by Banzai International. Act-On is an AI-powered marketing automation platform with an open data architecture designed to power enterprise marketing efforts. This platform provides intuitive tools for campaign management and customer engagement. PureCars has added RylieAI to AutoMiner CDP. RylieAI aims to help auto dealers improve customer care and operational efficiency. Equativ has upgraded its curation platform, now renamed Maestro by Equativ. Centralize programmatic campaign management and give ad buyers access to high-quality inventory. Key features include seamless integration with first-party data, cookie-free targeting solutions, and advanced deal management tools to improve campaign performance. SundaySky has announced its next-generation AI-powered video platform. Added advanced media generation features for AI avatars and in-app screen recording. pharosIQ enhances its B2B marketing intelligence platform with new AI capabilities for intent data and lead prioritization. This update includes improved global account targeting, deeper insight into personas, and more accurate content classification to help marketers understand buyer intent and refine their strategies. Chatmeter’s Pulse Ai platform can now analyze customer review photos and display relevant images based on feedback trends. The platform also offers enhanced review generation tools for multi-location businesses. Birdeye has launched a new marketing solution specifically for the restaurant and franchise industry that incorporates AI capabilities to help companies improve their online presence, reputation, social media management, and customer insights. Optimove’s Optimove Ignite+ is designed to help emerging iGaming and sports betting operators scale efficiently. The program provides access to CRM marketing tools, expert guidance, and industry-unique insights. Certain’s Session Advisor AI provides personalized recommendations for event management. This tool helps companies drive engagement and measurable outcomes at scale. Conversica’s AI agent, powered by AnswersIQ for Auto, provides automated inventory capabilities that enhance the ability of sales teams to engage with prospects in the automotive sector. UneeQ’s UneeQ 2.0 is a platform for deploying digital humans that deliver emotionally intelligent and engaging customer interactions. The platform supports high-quality avatars with sub-second response times, can be customized for different industries and use cases, and provides rich real-time analytics. Netigate’s Ask AI is a generative AI capability that helps businesses gain insights from customer and employee feedback. This tool aims to provide clear, actionable answers that organizations can use to improve their experiences and operations.
