OpenAI promises to increase transparency in data center site selection, responding to public resistance after the midterm elections

Cailianshe Financial News Agency

Open the APP

OpenAI promises to increase transparency in data center construction to counter public opinion headwinds highlighted by the midterm elections

Cailianshe Li Ying, Editor Wei Shaolei 2026-11-05 22:12

① OpenAI said that when negotiating new sites for its own data centers in the future, it will no longer sign confidentiality agreements with government officials; ② Of the 41 local data center-related proposals voted on the same day as the U.S. midterm elections, 40 outcomes were unfavorable to data centers; ③ The Democratic Party won the governor positions in Texas, Georgia and Ohio, and all three candidates promised during their campaigns to suspend or conditionally suspend new data center construction.

Cailianshe, November 5 (Editor Li Ying) — The Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the U.S. midterm elections, and local data center-related proposals almost uniformly ended with outcomes unfavorable to data centers, making the political resistance facing the AI infrastructure boom markedly more severe. OpenAI has recently been making frequent overtures to local communities, attempting to reverse public perceptions of data centers through the transparency of data center projects and job commitments.

According to media reports on November 5 local time, ChatGPT developer OpenAI announced a number of new measures that day aimed at winning the trust of local communities and convincing the public that data centers can bring real benefits to their localities. The report said the relevant plans had been in the works since August this year.

OpenAI said that in future negotiations or discussions on new sites, it will no longer sign confidentiality agreements with government officials, but content involving the company's proprietary information will still be kept confidential. Local residents will also be able to review construction plans and learn about the project's possible impact on traffic, noise and lighting.

OpenAI Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane said that because the hardware in data centers needs to be updated every three to five years, such facilities will continuously create jobs locally. He disclosed that an OpenAI facility in southern Ohio is expected to create 2,500 long-term jobs, with an average annual salary of $80,000.

According to information published on OpenAI's official website on August 17 this year, the facility is located in the PORTS-Pike Science and Technology Park in Pike County, Ohio. OpenAI is working with SB Energy, an energy company under SoftBank, Nvidia and the U.S. Department of Energy to secure about 8 gigawatts of IT load capacity there.

"These projects are no longer like the data centers people remember — the 'black boxes' built on ranches that bring almost no economic benefit to the communities where they are located," Lehane told reporters.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman admitted at another event on Wednesday: "We need to communicate better with the public and with local communities so they understand why data centers can bring them benefits."

Headwinds everywhere

In this week's U.S. midterm elections, the Democratic Party scored an upset by winning the governor positions in Texas, Georgia and Ohio. All three winners had previously promised to suspend or conditionally suspend new data center construction and tighten relevant regulations.

Many analysts interpreted the Democratic Party's landslide victory as a rejection by the American public of the tech industry's plan to build data centers on a large scale across the country.

According to media reports, preliminary data from Ballotpedia, a U.S. election information encyclopedia website, show that in local votes held on the same day as the midterm elections, among 41 data center-related proposals, 40 voting outcomes were unfavorable to data centers.

Over the past two years, OpenAI executives, along with many tech peers, have continuously sought to build ties with the Trump administration, hoping to influence AI policy at the federal level.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman once donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee and attended the inauguration for Trump's second term. Last year, Brockman personally donated $25 million to MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump.

This also makes OpenAI's position appear more delicate after the Democratic victory. According to the report, when asked how to respond to doubts from some Democrats, Lehane emphasized his deep credentials within the Democratic Party — he once served as a senior lawyer and spokesman in the Clinton administration and also served as press secretary for then-Vice President Gore during his presidential campaign.

Global Market Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence

Cailianshe statement: The content of this article is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors who act on it do so at their own risk.

Business Cooperation

Popular Unlocks

[Telegram Interpretation] The world's first bionic humanoid robot news anchor is officially released; Goldman Sachs expects the global humanoid robot market space to reach $154 billion by 2035. This company supplies robot-specific wiring harnesses and connectors to clients such as SW New Materials.

The world's first bionic humanoid robot news anchor is officially released; Goldman Sachs expects the global humanoid robot market space to reach $154 billion by 2035. This company supplies robot-specific wiring harnesses and connectors to clients such as SW New Materials, while another company's robots have cumulatively rolled off the production line nearly 20,000 units.

[Gold Medal Minutes Library] The decline in the policy risk premium for "solar-storage-green energy" is conducive to the repair of industry valuations; the domestic export logic has upgraded from competing on price to competing on compliance and service.

① The premium for high-efficiency photovoltaic products has already shown up in financial statements; leading companies have turned profitable and significantly reduced losses, and are expected to realize larger-scale profit delivery in 2027; ② The decline in the policy risk premium for "solar-storage-green energy" is conducive to the repair of industry valuations, and the domestic export logic has upgraded from competing on price to competing on compliance and service; ③ The reform of energy storage capacity pricing plus system operation fees makes energy storage an account-able asset, and domestic demand is expected to grow 30%-40% in 2027.

[All About Announcements] Semiconductors + memory chips + MCU chips + consumer electronics! The company's third-quarter net profit grew more than 200% quarter-on-quarter

① Semiconductors + memory chips + MCU chips + consumer electronics! This company's third-quarter net profit grew more than 200% quarter-on-quarter; ② Photovoltaics + computing power leasing + computing-power-electricity coordination! This company plans to sign a 1.5 billion yuan computing power cloud service contract; ③ Electronic specialty gases + military industry + commercial aerospace + CATL + medical devices! The company plans to invest 3.1 billion yuan to build a fluorine-containing high-purity electronic specialty gas project.

① Toyota Motor rose 16.68% at the close in Tokyo on Thursday, erasing its year-to-date decline in one stroke; the last time such a large single-day gain occurred was the rebound after "Black Monday" in 1987; ② High oil prices drove U.S. consumers to switch to hybrid vehicles, and Toyota's quarterly operating profit grew year-on-year for the first time in six quarters; the company also raised its full-year profit forecast and announced a shareholder return plan of up to 14 trillion yen over five years.

How do American billionaires view the Democratic Party's sweeping victory in the midterm elections?

Cailianshe Xia Junxiong 2026-11-05 21:46

① Musk spent $474 million to support Republicans but still failed to turn the election outcome, while Branson, Hoffman and others argued over huge political donations; ② Several investors warned that data center construction could be hindered, but Wall Street reacted positively, with the Dow surging 3% on Wednesday and the market value of tech giants once increasing by more than $750 billion that day.

Cailianshe Shi Zhengcheng 2026-11-05 21:24

English text is being prepared.