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Tech News
Anthropic is preparing a Nasdaq listing, reportedly targeting mid-November, with investors now eyeing a valuation of $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion—down from earlier talk of $2 trillion. The timing follows a steep Nasdaq selloff and midterm election results in which candidates favoring stricter AI regulation won in several states, and local communities rejected data center proposals in 40 of 41 ballot measures.
OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC the company will continue investing heavily in data center construction to meet corporate customer demand, even after midterm elections where voters in 41 of 42 local ballot measures backed restrictions on AI data centers. Friar said OpenAI will keep building relationships with hyperscalers and raising capital, arguing that demand for AI remains strong regardless of political pushback.
OpenAI recently hired Jessica Schumer, daughter of Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer, and began referring to its data centers as 'compute campuses.' The moves come as tech companies that spent two years courting the Trump administration now seek to repair relationships with Democrats, who have signaled they want tighter AI oversight after the midterms shifted Washington's balance of power.
A number of first-time candidates elected in this week's US midterm elections came from careers outside politics, including a firefighter and a reconstructive surgeon. The results also included several historic firsts for diversity among elected officials, according to reports on the outcomes.
In Tuesday's U.S. midterm elections, voters decided on 41 ballot measures related to data centers, approving added restrictions in all but one. The results came alongside Democratic wins for governor and congressional seats, with candidates who campaigned partly on tighter oversight of data centers and Big Tech. TechCrunch's Equity podcast discussed the implications for the tech industry, noting OpenAI's recent efforts to rebrand data centers.
OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told CNBC the company will continue investing in AI infrastructure and raising capital to meet customer demand, even after voters in Tuesday's midterms largely rejected or restricted local data center projects. She said OpenAI will keep working to build trust with communities and pointed to a policy blueprint the company released this week outlining commitments for its own data centers.
Technology shares rose on Friday morning, clawing back some losses from Thursday's sharp sell-off that erased trillions of dollars in market value across US, Asian and European markets. Nvidia rose more than 6% after shedding hundreds of billions on Thursday, while SpaceX and Tesla also posted gains, as the Nasdaq opened up 1.23% following stronger-than-expected US jobs data showing 165,000 new jobs added in September.
Donald Trump's official memecoin fell to an all-time low of $1.12 following the US midterm elections, down from $1.70 beforehand and roughly $2.00 a month earlier. The coin's market cap, which once peaked at $72 billion, has shrunk to around $340 million, leaving many of the nearly one million holders sitting on steep losses.
Global equity markets fell sharply after US stocks lost about $3.2tn in value overnight, with the Nasdaq down 5.5%, the Dow off 3.44% and the S&P 500 down 4.36%. Chipmakers tied to the AI boom were hit hardest, with SanDisk down 22% and Micron and AMD each losing 17%, while Asian indices including Japan's Nikkei, South Korea's KOSPI and Taiwan's TAIEX followed with steep declines.
SpaceX is reportedly seeking regulatory approval to launch a mobile service division that would compete with Verizon and AT&T. Following Democratic gains in the 2026 midterm elections, the legislative and regulatory path for that plan has become less certain, according to the report.
OpenAI has published a National Community Compact and Compute Campus Policy Blueprint outlining commitments for every future compute campus it builds. The company pledges to pay full energy and infrastructure costs, provide financial assurances to other utility customers, publish water and noise impact data, avoid NDAs with public officials, and report annually on local hiring and investment.
Voters are casting ballots today in midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress for the remainder of President Trump's second term. The outcome is expected to influence not just political dynamics in Washington but also business conditions and financial markets.