Sam Altman says an AI could succeed him at OpenAI, touts $500B plan

On February 4, 2026, Sam Altman said he would not block an AI model from eventually succeeding him at OpenAI. He joined Larry Ellison and Masayoshi Son on the first day of President Trump's second term to unveil Project Stargate, a $500 billion AI infrastructure plan. Employees, according to Forbes, voiced concerns about the company's pace and missing Apple's Siri deal to Google.