Key points
- Democrats won both chambers after candidates ran on slowing AI and data center construction.
- Microsoft cancels a roughly $3bn Nscale deal tied to a UK data center as OpenAI weighs resetting next year's capacity expectations.
- OpenAI published data center commitments two days after the vote, promising to pay full power costs and avoid NDAs, and encourages lawmakers to codify similar rules.
Democrats' Midterm Sweep Threatens the Data Center Boom
News
- Democrats sweep both chambers on AI backlash. Democrats won the House and Senate, with many candidates running on slowing AI development and data center construction. Jason Calacanis framed the result as a referendum on Donald Trump.
- Ohio towns and three states restrict data centers. More than a dozen Ohio towns voted to restrict new data centers, and bans passed in Kansas and Florida. Texas governor-elect Gina Hinojosa campaigned on pausing construction until the legislature passes regulations, per The Wall Street Journal.
- Texas to make data centers pay their way. A Gavin Baker note says the new Texas governor will require data centers delivering in 2028 and 2029 to pay taxes, hold power prices, protect water and use union labour. Jason Calacanis called the terms reasonable.
- Microsoft cancels roughly $3bn Nscale deal. Bloomberg reported Microsoft souring on neoclouds and cancelling a roughly $3bn Nscale deal tied to a UK data center. Senior OpenAI leaders were discussing whether to reset next year's capacity expectations.
- OpenAI vows to cover data center power costs. Two days after the vote OpenAI published data center commitments, promising to pay the full cost of power and avoid NDAs with officials. Meta, Microsoft, Google and Anthropic made similar pledges, with a $600bn compute target by 2030.
- Tech stocks fall 5% to 6% after midterms. The day's tech selloff reached 5% to 6%. Jason Calacanis called it overblown and a generational buying opportunity, naming Nvidia, Amazon, Uber and Tesla, and predicted a rally once tariffs calm and the Iran war ends.
- Anthropic signs first publisher licensing deal. Anthropic signed its first publisher licensing deal, with the Associated Press, days before the midterms. No terms were announced. Jason Calacanis argued real-time use of publisher content is not fair use and proposed AI firms hand 30% to publishers.
- Apple cuts engineers' daily AI spending caps. Bloomberg reported Apple cut engineering teams' daily AI spending cap from $300 to $200 in October, with some limits at $100 and $25 outside engineering. Jason Calacanis predicted corporate AI seats rising to $100 to $300 a month.
- Exit polls put Iran war ahead of data centers. Lon Harris said the exit polls put the Iran war first and AI data centers second, driven by voters' dislike of AI. A perception of government corruption came third, while Jason Calacanis said cost of living topped the list.
- Apple prices Pro Display XDR at $14,549. Jason Calacanis and Lon Harris priced out a Pro Display XDR configuration at $14,549 and noted a used Tesla costs about the same. They preferred iPads to touchscreen laptops.