Amid ‘Blue Tsunami,’ Big Tech Looks Overseas and to Deserts for Data Centers

[Financial News] The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that major artificial intelligence (AI) companies are looking overseas or to deserts as candidates opposed to building artificial intelligence data centers (AIDCs) won one race after another in the U.S. midterm elections.
Candidates who pledged to halt data center development won in key states for AIDC construction, including Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Michigan, heightening Big Tech’s concerns about possible construction halts, tighter regulations and permitting delays.
The day after the midterm elections, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was asked about public opinion on data centers and AI more broadly during a Q&A session with employees.
He said he understood why people did not want to live near data centers and reportedly floated the idea that they might have to consider building them in deserts. WSJ reported that OpenAI executives are currently discussing whether to revise their plans for data center expansion next year.
Other Big Tech companies are showing a similar trend. Major tech companies that have staked everything on AI investment and poured huge sums into it are considering measures and strategies to respond to the changed reality following the midterm elections.
In particular, they are preparing for the possibility that AIDC construction could be halted overnight by external factors, environmental regulations could be tightened, and permitting reviews could take longer. Concerns have grown that the rollout of their businesses could be further slowed if new AI safety regulations are also introduced.
Prominent tech investor Brad Gerstner claimed on a podcast that up to 35% of data center construction projects planned in the U.S. for next year risk being disrupted.
Dina Powell McCormick, who oversees Meta’s AI infrastructure business, also predicted that building data centers in the U.S. would become even more difficult.
At a conference held on the night of the 4th, Powell McCormick said that tech companies, including Meta, were more actively considering building data centers outside the U.S. or expanding existing facilities to circumvent regulations. Residents near existing facilities have experienced the benefits of job creation and increased tax revenues, making them relatively easier to persuade, she said.
As local opposition to AIDC construction intensified, OpenAI unveiled plans that day to directly cover the cost of expanding the power grid and strengthen cooperation with residents.
WSJ reported that Anthropic, too, has identified local governments’ moves to halt AIDC construction as a major business risk and is pursuing data center projects overseas to diversify the risks of computing infrastructure concentrated in the U.S.

[email protected] Lee Seok-woo, international affairs correspondent Reporter