Open AI CFO "continues to invest in AI data centers" despite the U.S. midterm election results

OpenAI's top management announced its intention to continue investing in related infrastructure despite the backlash against artificial intelligence (AI) data centers being confirmed in the U.S. midterm elections.

Sarah Pryor, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of OpenAI, said in an interview with U.S. economic broadcaster CNBC on the 6th (local time), "Even if we look at the results of the midterm elections, we need to think about ways to continue investing to meet customer demand."

CFO Pryor explained the background of this policy, saying, “The demand for AI is real,” and that no one disputes the demand for AI, and even if there were, the argument would not be persuasive.

At the same time, they cited the fact that Open AI achieved 1.2 billion weekly active users (WAU) in the third quarter and that sales to companies doubled while attracting major corporate customers such as JP Morgan Chase.

Accordingly, OpenAI plans to strengthen its cooperative relationship with large data center operators called ‘hyperscalers’ and continue to raise funds.

In particular, he showed his determination to overcome the public opinion against data centers that emerged during the midterm elections by building trust with the local community.

The goal is to solve problems such as rising electricity bills, water shortages, and noise, and provide support that residents want, such as investing in free school meals in the area or creating parks.

On the 5th, right after the Democratic Party won a landslide victory in the midterm elections and a large number of AI regulators were elected, OpenAI unveiled a plan for a 'National Community Agreement' to directly bear the cost of power grid expansion and strengthen cooperation with residents.

Meanwhile, CFO Pryor explained that for such infrastructure investments, the company will continue to conduct an investment round that has raised $11 billion to date, based on a corporate value of $1.25 trillion (approximately 1700 trillion won).

Regarding the timing of listing, he mentioned that he will continue to review plans to proceed next year.

Antropic, a rival company founded by Open AI graduates, began the formal initial public offering (IPO) process by releasing its securities report at the end of last month, but CFO Pryor reassured employees in August that it would be okay if the listing was later than Antropic.