CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator has a message for communities fighting AI data centers in their backyards: the computing demand isn’t going away, it’s just going to find a different backyard.
Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia & Tech Conference on September 9, Intrator framed the growing wave of public resistance to AI infrastructure as a natural human response to the dizzying speed of technological change. He called the pace “frightening” for many people.
The numbers behind the backlash
The scale of opposition is no longer anecdotal. A Brookings Institution analysis found that 75 data center projects, collectively worth roughly $130 billion, were delayed or outright blocked by local resistance in just the first quarter of 2026. That three-month tally matches the total number of projects impacted across all of 2025, suggesting the anti-data-center movement is gaining momentum, not losing it.
Public polling tells a similar story. A Gallup survey found that 70% of Americans oppose AI data centers being built in their local area. Nearly half, 48%, expressed strong opposition. The complaints tend to cluster around a few familiar grievances: noise from cooling systems, surging utility costs, strain on local power grids, and a general sense that these massive facilities extract more from communities than they contribute.
CoreWeave’s geographic hedge
Intrator’s response to this political reality has been less about persuasion and more about portfolio management. CoreWeave has been actively diversifying its development pipeline to reduce dependence on any single jurisdiction. The company now has more than one gigawatt of planned international capacity, a strategic buffer designed to ensure that resistance in one geography doesn’t derail the company’s growth trajectory.
Intrator acknowledged that shifting builds to alternative locations often comes with a higher price tag. International deployments introduce currency risk, different regulatory regimes, and potentially longer supply chains for specialized equipment.
The company also signaled a softer approach alongside the geographic hedging. Intrator emphasized CoreWeave’s commitment to being a “good provider” in the communities where it operates, advocating for industry-wide practices that engage local residents early and position data center operators as responsible neighbors.
A politically charged landscape
The timing of Intrator’s remarks is not coincidental. With midterm elections approaching, data center development has become a surprisingly potent local political issue. Candidates in Northern Virginia, central Texas, and parts of the Midwest have found that opposing new data center construction resonates with voters frustrated by rising electricity bills and the industrial transformation of formerly rural landscapes.
The $130 billion in stalled projects identified by Brookings represents real capital sitting in limbo. Developers are paying carrying costs on land, equipment, and permits while waiting for approvals that may never come.