Last week, Sam Altman of OpenAI spoke with Trump about the infrastructure of AI.

• On Friday, before the AI infrastructure announcement, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, spoke with President Donald Trump via phone.
• An informed source stated that the discussion was extensive and centered on the capabilities of artificial intelligence.
• The legal battle between Altman and Elon Musk has become public.

On Friday, before officially assuming the presidency, Donald Trump had a lengthy conversation with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, about the potential of artificial intelligence and the need to develop the technology in the U.S., according to CNBC.

According to a source who wishes to remain anonymous, during the conversation, Trump emphasized the importance of developing AI in the U.S. rather than relying on China, and how it could positively impact job creation and the confidence of the U.S. in his administration.

After Trump's inauguration on Monday, he promptly emphasized the significance of AI. On Tuesday, he announced a partnership with OpenAI, Oracle, and Softbank to invest billions of dollars in AI infrastructure in the US. Notably, OpenAI's participation is significant because Altman is currently involved in a legal dispute with Musk, Trump's top financial backer in the 2024 campaign and an advisor who previously co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a nonprofit.

Musk swiftly undercut the newly announced project, Stargate, by writing on X that "They don't actually have the money" to back up their pledge to invest $500 billion. He added that he knew "on good authority" that SoftBank "has well under $10B secured."

On Wednesday morning, Altman responded by writing on X that Musk is "the most inspiring entrepreneur of our time," but his claims are "wrong, as you surely know." Meanwhile, CEO Satya Nadella stated in an interview on CNBC that he is "good for his $80 billion" as his company plans to invest in AI-enabled data centers this year. Microsoft is the primary financial backer of OpenAI.

Musk, who leads Trump's new government efficiency advisory board, is suing OpenAI to prevent it from becoming a for-profit entity. The two sides have clashed in court filings and public statements. In a December blog post, OpenAI stated that in 2017, Musk not only desired but also created a for-profit structure to serve as the company's proposed new structure. OpenAI provided screenshots of emails from Musk to support its claims.

Despite his strained relationship with Musk, Altman maintains connections with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, a supporter of Trump, which has aided his standing with the president's team. In June, Oracle and OpenAI formed a cloud-computing partnership.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has a close relationship with Altman, and has publicly pledged $100 billion to invest in the U.S. ahead of the Stargate announcement, and Softbank has also backed OpenAI.

WATCH: President Trump speaks on AI infrastructure investment