The surge in Oracle’s stock came on the news of key AI contracts, including a huge deal with ChatGPT creator OpenAI, with which it is building Project Stargate, a vast network of data centres, in partnership with Japan’s powerful tech investor SoftBank Holdings. OpenAI is constructing data centres, Oracle is providing the computer infrastructure, and SoftBank is running the project, which could ultimately invest up to US$500 billion ($642 billion). As a business-focused software firm, Oracle may not be a household name like Microsoft, but it has changed the way organisations store and manage vast quantities of data.
What do you give a media mogul who has everything? If you are one of the world’s richest and he is your eldest son, you might help him buy another entertainment conglomerate. If your own legacy was at stake, you might give him something really special, like access to an algorithm that controls what everyone thinks.
Database software giant Oracle Corp’s on Sept 9, catapulted to the 12th largest listed firm, making it the fourth horseman of artificial intelligence (AI) cloud infrastructure, alongside Amazon.com’s AWS, Microsoft’s Azure and Alphabet’s Google Cloud, and briefly elevated its founder and executive chairman Larry Ellison to the world’s wealthiest person, ahead of Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
