OpenAI CFO says data center investment will continue after midterms

OpenAI will continue investing in artificial intelligence infrastructure despite the results of Tuesday's midterm elections, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told CNBC on Friday.

Friar made the comments in an interview at the Citi TMT Leadership Summit in Pebble Beach, California.

"When I think about the midterms, I need to keep thinking about how do we keep investing to meet that customer demand," Friar told CNBC's Sara Eisen. "It starts early with having built relationships with all of the hyperscalers, and it will continue to mean that we raise capital."

Voters across the country voiced support for candidates who have pledged to place restrictions on data center development. Out of 41 local ballot measures across 10 states, voters backed restrictions or rejected pro-development measures in all but one, according to an analysis by Ballotpedia and additional results gathered by CNBC on Wednesday. Opposition to the facilities mounted over the summer as Americans grew worried about their potential to harm the environment, raise utility bills and contribute to job loss.

OpenAI depends on data centers to train its AI models and serve customers. Friar said she doesn't think the election results dramatically changed anything for the company.

"If the midterm means more focus on data centers and communities, we're going to keep doing the work to get into those communities and to build trust with them," Friar said.

On Thursday, OpenAI published a policy blueprint and a series of commitments that it pledged to apply to company-owned and -operated data centers in the future.

OpenAI confidentially filed its prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, and Friar said Friday that the company would continue to look into a 2027 debut. Anthropic, OpenAI's chief rival, is trying to go public first, with an aim to hit the Nasdaq in mid-November.

Anthropic's revenue in the first nine months of the year jumped roughly 1,200% to $33.2 billion, according to its prospectus. The company said it has entered into purchase commitments and lease agreements with an aggregate committed spend of about $895.4 billion, "substantially all of which is related to compute and infrastructure."

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

The company has closed an initial $11 billion portion of that funding round, CNBC confirmed on Friday, and it could raise up to an additional $9 billion in the coming weeks. Bloomberg was first to report the $11 billion portion.

"The demand for AI is real," Friar said. "I don't think anyone's arguing with that, or if they are, I think it's a losing argument."

Sources

This article was drafted with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. Company claims are reported as claims. Cover image is AI-generated.