'They're our adversary': Kevin O'Leary pushes for more US data centers to rival China in AI

Investor and “Shark Tank” star Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary joined Scripps News on Tuesday to discuss all things money, including what he sees as a need for more data centers in the U.S. and the ongoing technological race with foreign adversaries like China.

O’Leary, who was in Washington, D.C. advocating for looser restrictions on data centers, acknowledged the growing concern over these kinds of projects but said they boost America’s ability to compete on the global scale.

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“It helps us advance the cause of what we want to do here because at the end of the day, the only reason I’m pursuing this is we’re competing with the Chinese now on AI,” O’Leary said. “We’re competing with them in economic growth. We’re competing with them in military growth, in terms of what we can do and what our capabilities are in the future. They are our competitor. They’re our adversary and they’re building power much faster that we are because they don’t have to worry about the permitting.”

The surge in data center construction is driven by increasing demand for artificial intelligence capabilities. As AI usage expands, more data centers are required to support these operations, which in turn demands significantly more electricity.

The primary concerns surrounding data centers typically involve property values, water consumption needs, and electricity impacts on local communities. O’Leary said that’s a big misunderstanding.

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“Obviously there’s a lot of adversaries against data centers because 10 years ago they used a lot of water. But they don’t do that as much anymore. The technology has advanced,” he said. “There’s a lot of misunderstanding that I’m trying to clear up about this. But at the end of the day, this is about competing with China.”

Watch Scripps News’ full interview with O’Leary in the video player above, where he also discusses a potential Spirit Airlines bailout, President Trump’s White House ballroom project, and the ongoing partial government shutdown.

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