New Federal AI Project Could Help Create Cancer MRNA Vaccine, Oracle CEO Says

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison delivers an opening keynote address at the 2011 OpenWorld Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on Oct. 2, 2011. Stephen Lam/Getty Images

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said at a White House event that an artificial intelligence (AI) project announced by President Donald Trump could be used for a range of applications, including developing what he called an “mRNA vaccine” for cancer.

On Tuesday evening, Trump held a news conference alongside Ellison, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to announce a $500 billion investment into the expansion of AI inside the United States. The project would also involve other top tech companies including Microsoft, NVIDIA, and others.

“A new American company that will invest $500 billion, at least, in AI infrastructure in the United States, creating over 100,000 American jobs almost immediately,” Trump said in remarks at the White House. “This monumental undertaking is a resounding declaration of confidence in America’s potential under a new president.”

Going into detail about the project, Ellison told reporters that AI will be used for a host of applications, singling out vaccines for cancer.

“One of the most exciting things we’re working on ... is our cancer vaccine,” the Oracle CEO, who is estimated to be worth about $230 billion, said at the event. “You can do early cancer detection ... with a blood test, and using AI to look at the blood test, you can find the cancers that are actually seriously threatening the person.

“You can make that vaccine, that mRNA vaccine, you can make that robotically, again using AI, in about 48 hours. So imagine early cancer detection, the development of a cancer vaccine for your particular cancer, aimed at you, and have that vaccine available in 48 hours.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pfizer and Moderna manufactured commonly used mRNA vaccines that were used in the United States. While the two companies and federal health agencies have touted the vaccines as being effective against the virus, studies have called into question their effectiveness.

Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has frequently criticized the vaccines. His Children’s Health Defense organization had sought to petition the government to block their use.

The partnership announced by Trump, called Stargate, will start building data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum.

Masayoshi Son, the SoftBank CEO based in Japan, already committed in December 2024 to invest $100 billion in U.S. projects over the next four years. He previously committed to $50 billion in new investments ahead of Trump’s first term, which included a large stake in the office-sharing company WeWork.

After the announcement Tuesday, X owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed that the tech backers behind Stargate “don’t actually have the money.”

“SoftBank has well under $10B secured. I have that on good authority,” Musk, who was tapped by Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, wrote on X, responding to a post about the project made by OpenAI.

Soon after, Atlman responded to Musk on the platform by writing, “Wrong, as you surely know.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.