OpenAI drops NDAs with public officials for data center projects

OpenAI says it will now allow "only narrow protections covering legitimate security information, trade secrets, or proprietary or competitively sensitive information." In October, Amazon said it would no longer use NDAs with the government agencies it works with on data center projects.

What else OpenAI is promising

The company says it will pay "the full cost" of the electricity it uses and of the "infrastructure needed to serve us." Power costs and grid strain are among the most common local concerns around large data centers.

OpenAI also plans to publish the jobs it expects each project to create and to report on its hiring. Every future "compute campus", the company's own term for data centers, that it owns and operates will have a "local compact" setting out these commitments. According to OpenAI, each compact will reflect "local priorities."

Why it matters

Secrecy around deals has fueled much of the backlash against data center buildouts, so dropping NDAs with officials targets a central complaint. The commitments are voluntary, though, and the company has not said how they will be verified. How much each local compact differs from the next will show how far the pledges go in practice.