“All I know is I’m good for my $80 billion.” This one-liner perfectly encapsulates the current state of AI infrastructure discussions. Here, Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, emphasizes his detachment from the intricate details of Stargate, a multi-hundred-billion dollar AI infrastructure project backed by his significant investment in OpenAI.
The fact that Nadella is not privy to the vague details regarding Stargate indicates a growing distance between Microsoft and OpenAI. Although Microsoft is referenced in the Stargate press release due to OpenAI’s models being exclusive to Azure, the most notable aspect is that OpenAI’s largest investor has opted not to engage in what Sam Altman describes as “the most important project of this era.” As Nadella clarified in a recent CNBC interview, he is pursuing his own $80 billion AI infrastructure initiative, allowing OpenAI to seek additional computational resources — with his endorsement — from other sources.
While it garnered less attention, Nadella’s response to Elon Musk on X was particularly revealing. In reply to Musk’s comment that, “on the other hand, Satya definitely does have the money,” Nadella responded: “And all…
