20 stocks that could benefit from Trump's Stargate AI project

On Tuesday, in his first full-day as US President, Donald Trump announced a new initiative that will see private sector investors push billions of dollars into artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure in the US. 

Flanked by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Oracle co-founder and chairman Larry Ellison in a White House briefing, Trump announced these three tech titans, alongside United Arab Emirates tech fund MGX, would commit a monumental US$500 billion to the project over the next four years. 

"We are going to do things that people are shocked at, starting off with tremendous investment coming into our country at levels that nobody has really seen before," Trump said. 

"[This is] the largest AI infrastructure project, by far, in history and it's all taking place right here in America." 

Stargate will "almost immediately" create over 100,000 jobs in the US, he added, before pointing to China as the US' main competitor in the AI arms race.  

"We want it to be in this country and we are making it available. I am going to help a lot through emergency declarations because we have an emergency. We have to get this stuff built," Trump said. 

"They have to produce a lot of electricity and we'll make it possible for them to get this production done very easily - at their own plants if they want... where they will build energy generation and that will be incredible."

Meanwhile, a few hours after the announcement, Elon Musk posted on his social media platform X (formerly Twitter), questioning whether these investors could afford this pledge.  

“They don’t actually have the money," he posted. "SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority."

There is a chance he's right. SoftBank has US$31 billion in cash (according to Visible Alpha), while Oracle has US$11 billion. OpenAI is losing money. MGX is a US$100 billion fund, but it did not commit to a number. SoftBank's first Vision Fund raised US$100 billion, so it's possible the company anticipates raising another large fund for this. 

Either way, the Stargate project is positive for overall AI investment. 

What this all means

At least 10 large data centres are already under construction in Texas, with more expansions planned. Trump is expected to use "emergency" authorities to expedite approvals for both data centre sites and power generation, given the huge electricity demand for AI systems. 

Nuclear power stands out as a clear solution to Stargate's energy needs, given its reliability, with policymakers emphasising nuclear energy's ability to handle surging AI power demand. 

This could see expansions, re-licensing or even revivals of closed Nuclear plants, as well as loan guarantees for new reactions (for example, Vogtle in Georgia). This push for domestic nuclear production, which includes uranium mining and reactor technology, is viewed as a hedge against China and Russia's growing footprint when it comes to AI and nuclear. 

That said, AI data centres place a significant strain on local power networks, which can stress local grids, creating "load fluctuations". Fuel cells, small modular nuclear reactors, or other distributed energy systems may help to reduce the reliance on local utilities, helping to stabilise power flow. Nonetheless, the need for robust and reliable power sources is rapidly growing. 

3 sectors and 20 stocks that could benefit from Trump's Stargate project

1. Semiconductors and memory

AI demands enormous computing horsepower, and is reliant on the likes of GPUs, CPUs and specialised accelerators. High-bandwidth memory and DRAM are crucial for training and inference, while growth in large language models, generative AI and autonomous systems underpins long-term demand.

For some context, in December, as part of OpenAI's "12 days of Shipmas", the company announced its next frontier model, o3. This is a reasoning model, meaning it stops, thinks and fact checks itself. Incredibly, it can solve math equations that would take a PhD mathematician hours if not days to solve. 

Prior to this point, many were worried that AI's capabilities would soon cap out. However, OpenAI demonstrated that with a new method (test time compute i.e. basically thinking longer in the inference stage) it could solve even more advanced problems. This means the ceiling of what you could potentially solve or automate with AI has risen considerably.

On the back of this announcement, Minotaur bought back into NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), as we became more confident about the runway of spend (o3 is very expensive, but costs come down all the time - the important part was showing that greater capability). We believe that it becoming widely available at a reasonable cost is now more a question of when not if. 

Key Stock Examples

• NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA): The market leader in data centre GPUs for AI, with a dominant ecosystem, strong developer mindshare, and entrenched relationships with major cloud providers. 

• Micron Technology (NASDAQ: MU): The core supplier of DRAM and NAND flash memory, both which are essential for AI training clusters. It is also well-positioned for next-gen memory (for example, HBM and high-density NAND).

• Other notable names: We don't own TSMC (NYSE: TSM) or AMD (NASDAQ: AMD), however they also stand to benefit. 

2. Data centre infrastructure 

The Stargate project may build its own proprietary facilities, but surging AI compute needs typically spill over into third-party data centres. This means rising demand for cooling and power, as well as the real estate needed to handle these high-density servers. 

Key Stock Examples

• Vertiv Holdings (NYSE: VRT): This company provides power, thermal, and infrastructure solutions for data centres. As more AI servers come online, demand for robust cooling and power distribution intensifies.

• Other names that we don't own but could benefit include Equinix (NASDAQ: EQIX), Digital Realty Trust (NASDAQ: DLR), CISCO (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Juniper (NYSE: JNPR). 

3. Nuclear and uranium

The proposed expansion and re-licensing of nuclear reactors as a stable baseload source of energy for AI data centres is bullish for nuclear and uranium mining. Renewed government support for uranium supply, domestic production and advanced reactors, could see a long-term uptrend in uranium prices as global nuclear sentiments becomes more favourable. 

Key Stock Examples

• Cameco (NYSE: CCJ): One of the world’s largest uranium producers, benefiting from rising spot and contract prices.

• Atha Energy (TSX: SASK): We own a small, speculative position in this small up-and-coming uranium player. This business is well-positioned if US policies incentivise domestic or allied-sourced uranium.

• Velan (TSX: VLN): This is a manufacturer of industrial valves for nuclear power plants (among other end markets). If new builds or reactor refits ramp up, Velan could see meaningful demand growth.

• Other names that we don't own that could benefit from this nuclear push include Kazatomprom (LSE: KAP), Westinghouse Electric (private) and General Electric (NYSE: GE). 

Advanced power generation and distribution 

Grid stress from AI data centres can cause "bad harmonics" or fluctuations in local grids. However, on-site or modular solutions can help to ensure reliable power. Emerging small modular nuclear reactors, fuel cells and microgrids can offer controllable baseload generation, with the potential for distributed generation to address local constraints and bolster grid resilience.  

Key Stock Examples

• Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE): Solid-oxide fuel cells for on-site power, potentially reducing data centres’ reliance on the legacy grid and mitigating strain, especially as AI operations continue to scale.

• We don't own NuScale Power (NYSE: SMR), Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), Exelon (NASDAQ: EXC), Siemens Energy (ETR: ENR) or Schneider Electric (EPA: SU), but they could be worthy of a second look if investors are considering the possibilities of this theme. 

Some considerations 

Before investors go diving into these companies, there are a few considerations that you need to be aware of. Fast-track permitting and government incentives as policy accelerates can compress timelines, potentially creating short-term booms in sectors. 

There's also a risk of overbuild. Historically, large-scale infrastructure expansions can lead to phases of overcapacity - and thus, investors should track lead times carefully.  

Then, of course, there's the risk of geopolitical competition. As the US eyes AI and nuclear leadership, its interplay with China, Russia and other major tech and nuclear economies is important to watch for supply chain constraints, intellectual property issues and trade policies.  

Beyond nuclear, further modernisation in US grids, such as advanced transformers, high-voltage DC lines and microgrid tech could also emerge as priorities. These cost time and money. 

All of this is to say that AI's voracious electricity needs and a pro-nuclear stance underscores a unique moment in history, as policies simultaneously drive high tech growth and stable power supply. 

This convergence could reshape everything from how data centres are designed (favouring on-site energy), to how the US sources and refines critical materials like uranium. The result may lead to significant investment opportunities across diverse sectors - spanning mining, semiconductors, data centre infrastructure, fuel cell technology, and more.