AI in action · Markets
OpenAI's CFO: Midterms Won't Stop the Data Centre Build
OpenAI will keep investing in data centres despite the midterm results, CFO Sarah Friar said on November 6, as Reuters reported an $11 billion first close at a $1.25 trillion valuation.
After a week in which voters rejected new data centres in 40 of the 41 local ballot measures counted by Ballotpedia and chip stocks had their worst day since 2020, the largest buyer of AI computing capacity said its plans have not changed. "When I think about the midterms, I need to keep thinking about how do we keep investing to meet that customer demand," OpenAI's chief financial officer Sarah Friar told CNBC's Sara Eisen at the Citi TMT Leadership Summit in Pebble Beach, California, on Friday, November 6, Investing.com reported.
Friar framed the local opposition as something to work through rather than a reason to slow down. "If the midterm means more focus on data centers and communities, we're going to keep doing the work," she said. On demand she was blunt: "The demand for AI is real. I don't think anyone's arguing with that, or if they are, I think it's a losing argument."
The same day, Reuters reported that OpenAI had closed an initial $11 billion of a new funding round at a valuation of $1.25 trillion, citing a source familiar with the matter, according to Unite.AI. The round could reach up to $30 billion, and two investors said the valuation was below the $1.5 trillion OpenAI first sought; SoftBank and MGX were among the participants. Asked about raising money in a volatile market, Friar said that "a good CFO always raises money when she can".
Why it matters to public markets: OpenAI's spending commitments sit behind a large share of the orders that chipmakers, cloud providers and power companies are counting on. The sell-off on Thursday was, at heart, a bet that some of that spending would be delayed by politics. A first close below the valuation originally targeted shows investors are pricing more risk, but a closed round also means the money keeps flowing for now.
Statements by executives are not contracts, and the financing still has to be completed in the coming weeks. The more useful evidence will come from the companies that receive the money: the hyperscalers' capital spending plans and Nvidia's guidance on November 17 will show whether the build-out Friar described is still on schedule.
Sources: Investing.com — OpenAI will keep investing in data centers despite results of midterms: CFO (Nov 6, 2026); Unite.AI — OpenAI Secures $11B in Initial Funding at $1.25T Valuation (Nov 6, 2026)