Sam Altman visits $16B 'Stargate' megaproject where he says cancer could be cured
Although much of the news is taken up by the idea that AI will be responsible for mankind's eradication, the likes of Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and Dario Amodei are attempting to prove it's much more than just chatbots and a potential threat to our jobs.
Even though Altman and Musk were recently embroiled in a brutal legal battle over OpenAI, remember that they were co-founders of the company back in 2015 with a mission statement that artificial general intelligence "benefits all of humanity."
It might've sounded like something from a Philip K. Dick novel just a few years ago, but now, Sam Altman is making moves on the idea that AI could soon cure cancer. Serving as the next step, he attended a groundbreaking ceremony for his Stargate megaproject's latest build in Michigan.
What is the Stargate megaproject Saline Township campus?
Spearheaded by Altman and OpenAI, Stargate is part of a multi-billion-dollar investment that hopes to build the physical infrastructure that can power the next generation of AI and eventual emergence of artificial general intelligence (AGI).
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President Trump made a big deal about Stargate when it was announced in January 2025, but jump forward to June 2026, and Altman was on the ground at the $16 billion Stargate campus in Saline Township, Michigan.
Construction on the AGI infrastructure started around three months ago, and with help from Related Digital, OpenAI said the exterior of one building is nearly done.
The Michigan data center has been dubbed 'The Barn' and was cheered by Jeff Blau, Related Companies CEO & Related Digital Chair.
Speaking at the event, FOX 2 Detroit says Blau reiterated: "You've heard that this is the largest private investment in Michigan's history — $16 billion. But when you include the chips and servers that go inside the buildings behind us, this becomes one of the largest infrastructure investments happening anywhere in the United States today."
Altman similarly hyped the build and looked even further ahead at what The Barn could do for the world of science: "This could very well turn into the site where cancer gets cured. This could be the site where hundreds of millions of students around the world learn and get private tutoring.
"This could turn into the site where millions of small businesses can run their business with AI in the cloud. A gigawatt of AI can do all those things."
What has Sam Altman said about AI curing cancer?
Even though Elon Musk has mocked the OpenAI Stargate project and there have been plenty of protests against the Saline Township build, Altman is pushing the idea of AI curing cancer. This isn't the first time Altman has suggested AI could be key in ridding the world of cancer. In a September 2025 post on his blog, the tech mogul gave his own prediction for the future as he said: "If AI stays on the trajectory that we think it will, then amazing things will be possible. Maybe with 10 gigawatts of compute, AI can figure out how to cure cancer." He's previously pencilled in 2035 as a potential timeframe when we could reach this milestone, but in the meantime, he envisions AI working with researchers on novel experiments.
No matter what you think of AI, it's hard not to see its potential use for good. When Altman posted a viral question asking customers what problems they hoped AI could solve, health and longevity emerged on top, with specific mentions of cancer and longevity.
Hopefully, the Saline Township campus will help us get there.