what is Stargate Project

The Stargate Project, initially established in 1977 as a secretive U.S. Army unit focused on psychic phenomena for intelligence applications, has no connection to the modern Stargate Project announced in 2025 as a $500 billion initiative by SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle to build AI infrastructure.

1. **Historical Stargate Project (1977-1995)**:
- The original Stargate Project was a military unit investigating psychic phenomena for intelligence purposes, using remote viewing techniques.
- It was led by Lt. Frederick Holmes "Skip" Atwater and was based at Fort Meade, Maryland.
- The project was terminated in 1995 after producing vague and unreliable information, and it was never deemed useful for intelligence operations.
2. **Modern Stargate Project (2025)**:
- The new Stargate Project is a private sector venture aimed at building AI infrastructure to secure leadership in AI, create jobs, and generate economic benefits.
- Led by Masayoshi Son, the project includes partnerships with SoftBank, OpenAI, Oracle, Arm, Microsoft, NVIDIA, and others.
- The initiative involves repurposing industrial assets like Foxconn's Ohio plant into AI-ready data centers, emphasizing full-stack infrastructure needs.
- This project represents a significant investment in the U.S. AI ecosystem and is aligned with geopolitical goals of securing technological dominance.

In conclusion, while both projects share the name "Stargate," they are distinct initiatives with different objectives, timelines, and operational structures. The modern Stargate Project is a private sector effort focused on AI infrastructure, whereas the earlier Stargate Project was a military unit exploring psychic phenomena.