Tokyo / San Francisco – May 13, 2025 — The ambitious AI infrastructure venture jointly pursued by SoftBank Group Corp. and OpenAI, dubbed Project Stargate, is reportedly facing serious headwinds due to escalating tariff uncertainties and rising geopolitical tensions in the global technology supply chain.
A Strategic Alliance Meets Global Trade Challenges
Launched as a multi-billion-dollar initiative earlier this year, Stargate is designed to create a next-generation AI supercomputing network, featuring hyperscale data centers powered by NVIDIA H100 and B200 chips, as well as custom silicon developed in partnership with key U.S. and Asian semiconductor firms.
However, sources familiar with the matter have revealed that the project’s roadmap has been slowed significantly amid fears of tightening U.S.-China trade restrictions, particularly concerning the export of advanced AI chips and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
The core issue stems from a growing list of export controls issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, as well as retaliatory trade measures from China’s Ministry of Commerce, which threaten to disrupt component sourcing from Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan—countries critical to SoftBank’s regional supply chain.
Investment Delays and Supplier Hesitation
While SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son had positioned Stargate as a key pillar of the company’s post-IPO strategy following the success of Arm Holdings Plc, sources say SoftBank’s legal and procurement teams have recently paused or delayed several supplier contracts due to uncertainty around tariffs and licensing requirements.
Suppliers such as TSMC, Samsung Electronics, and ASML are reportedly re-evaluating timelines and terms, particularly for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) modules and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment—components critical to building AI data centers.
OpenAI’s Role and Microsoft’s Involvement
Although OpenAI is not a direct capital partner, its involvement includes providing API-level integration, AI model access, and deployment expertise. Insiders say Microsoft, OpenAI’s key investor, has been looped into discussions but is yet to publicly signal involvement in Stargate.
Looking Ahead
With tensions continuing to rise in the Indo-Pacific region, analysts warn that major AI infrastructure projects like Stargate could be among the first casualties of a fragmented tech landscape. Industry experts from Goldman Sachs and IDC suggest that unless trade barriers ease in the coming months, the cost of global AI scaling could skyrocket.
Both SoftBank and OpenAI have declined to comment on the reported delays.
Leave a comment