AI is no longer software, it's energy, and that's its cost.

Geo Ceccarelli
Sep 18
3 min read

The name "Stargate" evokes science fiction, but Microsoft and OpenAI's project is the most concrete and ruthless industrial gamble of our time. We're not talking about a new algorithm or a more intelligent model, but a $100 billion gamble to build the physical infrastructure that will power the next era of artificial intelligence.

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In my latest episode of Cherry Picking , I analyzed this monumental project, finding that the race for AI dominance has changed nature: it is no longer a software race, but a struggle for control of energy.

AI, the Trinity of Power: Software, Hardware, and Cloud

Stargate is not an isolated initiative, but a strategic alliance that merges the three pillars of the technological ecosystem into a single super-colossus:

Microsoft: The interface that transforms AI into a mass-market product, integrating it into its software empire.
Oracle: The factory that provides industrial-scale computational and logistics capacity.
NVIDIA: The beating heart that produces GPUs, the true raw material of this revolution.

Together, they control the entire value chain, from chip to final application.

The Real Goal: "Cognitive Energy" for AGI

The key concept to understanding Stargate is that of Cognitive Energy . Just as electricity fueled the industrial revolution, pure computational power is the energy fueling the AI revolution. Stargate isn't about making current models run better, but about unlocking the future: training and running the first true Artificial General Intelligences (AGI) , models of a complexity that today's infrastructure can't even conceive of.

The Real Cost of the Portal

But every industrial revolution has a cost. And Stargate's is immense, and not just in dollars:

The Energy Dilemma: These "cognitive power plants" will consume gigawatts of real energy. Where will it come from? The sustainability of this growth is one of the greatest unknowns of our time, and there's already talk of dedicated nuclear reactors.

Geopolitical Risk: The location of these data centers is not a logistical choice, but a strategic one. We're talking about a new "cognitive sovereignty," with nations competing to host (and control) these critical infrastructures.

The Technological Gamble: Betting $100 billion on NVIDIA hardware today is a huge risk in an industry where a new chip architecture could be game-changing tomorrow.

The 3 Rules of the New Investigation:

Correlation is Not Causation: The first step is to accept that old models are dead. The goal is to measure impact, not just count clicks.
Measuring is Experimenting: Without a control group, there is no proof, only opinion. Testing culture becomes central.
The Advantage is in the Skills: The difference will not be made by the tools, but by the analysts capable of asking the right questions and interpreting the evidence.

Conclusion: Who Controls the Switch?

Stargate teaches us that the question is no longer "who will write the best model?", but "who will control the energy to power them?" While Microsoft, Oracle, and NVIDIA build their portal, giants like Google, Amazon, and Apple must decide whether to build their own or risk being left as bystanders. Because when the portal opens, not everyone can pass.