- Dozens of data centre projects across the US worth roughly $150bn in investment have been stalled or cancelled due to local opposition.
- Donald Trump called to support the nationwide AI infrastructure building boom, which has provoked a furious backlash from voters, urging Americans to let Data Reign.
- Vice-president JD Vance told reporters he thought probably 99 per cent of the backlash to data centres was due to higher energy prices in surrounding areas, and if developers addressed these issues, I don’t think the data centres are that controversial.
- An advocacy group linked to tech and AI billionaires said it was launching a multimillion-dollar public engagement campaign to build support for data centres by highlighting their economic benefits, starting with an advertising blitz in Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin.
- The group is associated with Leading the Future, a Super Pac that has raised more than $75mn from Silicon Valley billionaires, including venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman.
Former President Donald Trump is pushing for a nationwide data center construction initiative, despite facing significant voter backlash. He argues that those opposing the projects are aiming to remain “backwards and poor”.
The backlash has led to the stalling or cancellation of dozens of data center projects across the U.S., amounting to roughly $150 billion in investment.
Vice President JD Vance attributes 99% of the opposition to rising energy prices in surrounding areas, suggesting that if developers address these concerns, the projects would be less controversial.3
In response to the backlash, an advocacy group linked to tech and AI billionaires is launching a multimillion-dollar public engagement campaign to promote the economic benefits of data centers. This campaign will kick off with an advertising blitz in Kansas, Ohio, and Wisconsin.4
The group is associated with Leading the Future, a Super PAC that has raised over $75 million from Silicon Valley billionaires, including venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman.5
“Dozens of data centre projects worth roughly $150bn have been stalled or cancelled due to local opposition. An advocacy group linked to tech billionaires, including Marc Andreessen and Greg Brockman, is launching a multimillion-dollar campaign to highlight economic benefits, starting in Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin.”
Financial Times
