OpenAI CFO says election results won't change expansion plans, will continue investing in data centers and raising funds

Related topics top start Related topics top end Futures promotion begin Futures promotion end Miaopai begin Miaopai end Video player start Video player end Market chart begin Market chart end

OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar said on Friday that the company will continue to invest in artificial intelligence infrastructure, even if voters strongly oppose data centers in Tuesday's midterm elections.

"When it comes to the midterm elections, I need to keep thinking about how to continue investing to meet customer demand," Friar said in an interview at the Citi TMT Leadership Conference in Pebble Beach, California. "This starts with building relationships with all hyperscalers early on, and it will also continue to mean that we need to raise financing."

According to an analysis by Ballotpedia and additional results collected by the media on Wednesday, in 41 local ballot measures across 10 states, voters supported control measures or rejected pro-development measures in all but one. This summer, opposition rapidly intensified as Americans grew increasingly concerned that these facilities could harm the environment, drive up electricity bills and cause job losses.

Recently, investors have turned skeptical of the AI trade due to rising borrowing costs, concerns about surging debt and public backlash against the industry. The Nasdaq on Thursday posted its biggest drop in 19 months, led by chipmakers and new cloud companies most closely tied to AI buildouts. Those stocks rebounded somewhat on Friday.

OpenAI relies on data centers to train its AI models and serve customers. Friar said she believes the election results have not significantly changed the company. On Thursday, OpenAI released a policy blueprint and a series of commitments that it said will apply in the future to data centers the company owns and operates.

"If the midterm elections mean more focus on data centers and communities, we will continue to work to enter these communities and build trust with them," Friar said.

OpenAI confidentially filed a prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June. Friar said on Friday that the company will continue to study a 2027 listing. Its main competitor, Anthropic, is trying to go public first, targeting a Nasdaq debut in mid-November.

According to Anthropic's prospectus, its revenue jumped about 1,200% to $33.2 billion in the first nine months of this year. The company said it has entered into purchase commitments and lease agreements with total committed spending of about $895.4 billion, "almost all related to computing power and infrastructure."

Friar said on Friday that OpenAI is in negotiations to raise financing at a pre-money valuation of $1.25 billion. She said "a good CFO always raises money when they can," and said the funding round is still ongoing.

"Demand for AI is real," Friar said. "I don't think anyone would dispute that; if someone does, I think that is an untenable argument." news_keyword_pub,usstock,.IXIC iframe below main text iframe below main text General statement General statement QR code at end of article start QR code at end of article start

QR code at end of article start QR code at end of article start Editor name and work code

Editor name and work code