OpenAI says it will keep pouring billions into data centers no matter what voters just told it — and the tab for the electricity and the borrowing will land on your paycheck.
Voters in nearly 40 communities across 10 states rejected data center construction at the ballot box Tuesday, opposing the facilities over soaring utility bills, environmental damage, and secretive deals between tech companies and local officials. OpenAI's response was a transparency pledge and a promise to keep building anyway. "When I think about the midterms, I need to keep thinking about how do we keep investing to meet that customer demand," OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC. "The demand for AI is real. I don't think anyone's arguing with that, or if they are, I think it's a losing argument."
Out of 41 local ballot measures, voters backed restrictions or rejected pro-development measures in every single one except a tiny town in North Dakota, according to a Ballotpedia analysis gathered by CNBC. The message was unmistakable: Americans don't want these power-hungry facilities in their backyards. The tech oligarchy isn't listening.
While voters were casting ballots, data center executives were playing pickleball. At a Virginia conference organized by Data Center Dynamics on November 3 and 4, over 3,000 industry professionals networked, jogged, and attended an icebreaker party while their business model took a beating at the polls. "Suddenly we have protesters and people saying four-letter words about us," Jeff Wabik, CTO of DC BLOX, told the conference. "Most of that is just straightforward misinformation."
OpenAI, which depends on data centers to train its models, released a "Policy Blueprint" Thursday pledging to stop striking secret deals with local officials, end mandatory nondisclosure agreements, and bear the cost of its infrastructure. The pledge came after residents of Effingham County, Georgia, sued their own officials over a secret deal OpenAI struck with the county's Industrial Development Authority. OpenAI says it terminated that NDA in July.
"On Tuesday, American voters sent a powerful message to Washington, overwhelmingly rejecting the consequences of data centers that have been imposed on them by big tech: skyrocketing utility bills, corruption and secrecy around tax breaks and NDAs, fears of job loss, and environmental impacts," Alliance for Secure AI CEO Brendan Steinhauser told the Daily Caller.
But the money keeps flowing. Anthropic, OpenAI's chief rival, has committed roughly $895.4 billion in purchase commitments and lease agreements, "substantially all" tied to compute and infrastructure, according to its prospectus. OpenAI is in talks to raise funding at a $1.25 billion pre-money valuation and is eyeing a 2027 IPO. Chip stocks tanked Thursday on fears of Democratic regulation, then recovered Friday — but the capital commitment doesn't blink.
CNBC framed the story as OpenAI "investing despite election results." Business Insider highlighted the surreal image of executives playing pickleball while voters torched their industry. The Daily Caller focused on OpenAI's pledge to end secret deals — a concession that only came after voters forced their hand.
The question isn't whether OpenAI and its rivals can raise the money. They can, and they will. The question is who pays when the power bill comes due.
