Are AI transaction priorities changing under the “blue wave”? OpenAI's “New Community Contract” is released, and tech giants and the computing power supply chain are becoming divided

The Zhitong Finance App learned that OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT and one of the world's leaders in AI applications, is incorporating US community acceptance, data center power equipment cost sharing, and information transparency into the core conditions for AI computing power infrastructure expansion. Just after the Democratic Party swept through the US Senate and House of Representatives, the company launched the “National Community Compact” on November 5, promising not to sign a confidentiality agreement in data center public affairs negotiations, to bear the costs of electricity and related infrastructure on its own, and to provide financial security before major expenses are initiated to prevent other electricity users from bearing the costs after the project is postponed, reduced, or cancelled.

At the same time, the company will disclose noise, water, electricity and local recruitment conditions, and publicly report on the progress of compliance. Official documents make it clear that this set of agreements targets future parks owned and operated by OpenAI, while retaining limited privacy protection for necessary security information and trade secrets.

OpenAI's latest move can be described as touching on the core of the current AI computing power infrastructure controversy — enterprises obtain computing power and commercial benefits, and local residents also need to obtain measurable benefits and be exempted from additional public costs. OpenAI said that the relevant arrangement has been in preparation for several months and was not temporarily introduced in response to the election results; however, the Democratic Party took back both houses of Congress and won the Texas, Ohio, and Georgia gubernatorial elections, making licensing, energy burdens, and community interests more directly constrained the project.

Looking at project economics, more clear cost burdens and financial guarantees may increase developers' upfront investment, but it is also expected to reduce community disputes, reduce the risk of delayed delivery of AI infrastructure projects, and improve the predictability of scheduled delivery of computing power.

OpenAI promises that data center project negotiations will not use confidentiality agreements and will not allow residents to bear related electricity costs

OpenAI said it will not use confidentiality agreements when negotiating data center projects with public officials and ensure that residents do not bear the electricity costs associated with these facilities in response to growing opposition to AI infrastructure development. This “National Community Pact”,

Indicate commitments to disclose the potential impact of the project on the community, including noise, water consumption, and energy needs. The company also promised to reduce electricity use during peak electricity consumption periods, return electricity to the grid, and set local recruitment targets when local labor supply conditions permit. OpenAI said it will publicly track and report on implementation progress.

The artificial intelligence lab said in a statement: “We will pay in full for the electricity we use and the infrastructure needed to provide our services. Before major expenses begin, we will provide financial security to ensure that the interests of other customers are protected if the project is postponed, curtailed, or cancelled.”

The announcement came after the US election on Tuesday. In this election, voters supported a number of candidates who advocated strengthening AI supervision and limiting data center development. Opposition to such projects is increasingly disrupting expansion plans. According to Data Center Watch, in the second quarter of 2026, at least 45 projects with a total value of 88 billion US dollars faced some form of local opposition.

OpenAI said the initiative has been in preparation for several months and is not a response to the election results. Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris LeHaan said the company developed these commitments through discussions with residents and officials in Georgia, Ohio, Texas and other states.

Lehahn said, “It is true that quite a few of these places have been significantly impacted by globalization in the past 20 or 30 years; these residents have indeed been deeply hurt by businesses and other entities in the past, and there are many good reasons for their concerns.”

LeHaan acknowledged that growing political resistance may cause some OpenAI projects to be postponed, and pointed out that building infrastructure on the scale the company envisioned faces many challenges.

He said, “With the scale of construction we are proceeding with, various issues and problems will inevitably arise, which need to be solved at different levels, such as states and regions. Of course people will pay attention to how voters express their wishes.”

LeHaan said OpenAI has also reached out to political candidates over the past few months to discuss how the data center project could benefit the local community, but he did not reveal the identity of the participants.

He said, “If you want to join a community and want to build there, you really have to work with the community and listen to the community's opinions. People have already expressed their wishes in this way through the ballot box, which sends an important message that everyone must listen, act, and respond. That's how democracy should work.”

“Blue Wave” reprioritizes AI investment: stock value and incremental cost tend to diverge

The key changes brought about by the Democratic Party's victory focused on repricing construction costs, delivery times, and project site selection. According to MarketWatch, Bloomberg Intelligence predicts that state and local-level suspensions, licensing restrictions, electricity prices, and disclosure requirements may delay, relocate, or increase costs, but may not significantly reduce total data center expenses across the US; well-known Wall Street agency Evercore ISI emphasized that the actual impact depends on existing project exemptions and relocation capabilities; another agency, Raymond James, believes that the market may underestimate changes in construction costs, time and location. It is worth noting that federal policy is still limited by presidential veto power and the direction of the executive branch, and as a result, local approval has become a more direct channel of influence.

The “blue parliament” means that the Democratic Party controls both houses of the Senate and the House of Representatives at the same time. OpenAI's latest set of arrangements, which have been in the works for several months, will further incorporate power cost ownership, project performance, and community participation into the financial accounts of AI expansion: a company's competitiveness depends not only on how many chips it can purchase, but also on whether it can obtain a sustainable power supply, construction permits, and the ability to finance the full cost of the project.

This also largely explains the severe internal fragmentation of Wednesday's stock market, especially technology stocks: Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta rose 6.7%, 6.1%, 3.2%, and 1.4%, respectively, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index fell 3.1%, while the S&P 500 index rose about 1.6%. Judging from the investment strategy mechanism behind it, large-scale platforms have stock computing power, customer relationships, and commercialization channels. Slowing new supply may increase the scarce value of existing infrastructure; if future capital expenditure competition eases, free cash flow expectations may also improve.

Market risk appetite correction clearly favors tech giants with established computing power, customer channels, and mature cash flow sources. The market seems to be shifting to betting that restrictions on new data centers at the state and local levels may increase the scarce value of already built facilities, ease capital expenditure pressure from giants that continue to compete for expansion, and improve free cash flow expectations; for developers and equipment suppliers that rely on the construction of new parks, project delays may delay order fulfillment and revenue confirmation, while financing costs are still accumulating.

The Goldman Sachs strategist team and IBM Vice Chairman Gary Cohen both made similar judgments. In contrast, suppliers of AI chips, servers, electrical equipment, and cooling rely on new projects to fulfill orders, and construction delays will change the pace of revenue recognition; data center operators that rely on financing for expansion may also be able to withstand a longer construction period. These market views all highlight that capital is re-evaluating the quality of AI growth — whether existing computing power can continue to be monetized, whether expansion expenses can receive sufficient returns, and whether enterprises can withstand the extension of the construction cycle are becoming an important basis for this round of segmentation and reevaluation.

The relocation of the project to an area with abundant energy and friendlier approval is expected to retain some of the investment requirements, but the relocation still requires reimplementation of land, power and construction arrangements. The “behind-the-meter” (Behind-the-meter) proposed by Cohen can reduce dependence on public grid power supply through on-site power generation, and its impact still depends on specific access and backup arrangements; the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has also incorporated post-meter power generation, co-location loads, and prevention of cost transfer into large-scale load access reforms. The peak cutting and power transmission proposed by OpenAI also requires load adjustment, on-site power generation or energy storage, grid connection permits, and cooperation with power company agreements, so it cannot be assumed that all parks can unconditionally supply power to the power grid.

The competitive standards for AI investment are being further extended — in addition to the ability to procure and finance AI chips, power implementation, community negotiation, and delivery execution will determine whether growth can be realized. Big tech giants such as Meta and Microsoft are likely to have their assets and cash flow advantages in extremely powerful data centers being re-evaluated, while supply chains associated with computing power infrastructure are more dependent on project locations, approval progress, and customer financing quality. OpenAI's new commitment is reflected in seeking more stable construction conditions for the next stage of computing power expansion through transparent negotiations, cost sharing, and local interests.