Amazon and others are done keeping data center deals secret. Is it enough to build trust?
Amazon and Microsoft have announced they will stop using non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) for data center negotiations with local governments. This shift comes amid growing community backlash against AI infrastructure and concerns regarding transparency in the tech industry.
Why it matters
The move reflects a broader trend of tech giants attempting to rebuild public trust as they expand physical infrastructure for AI development.
Amazon says it will stop using NDAs when negotiating data center deals with local governments, following a similar move from Microsoft earlier this year. Secrecy has fueled community backlash against AI infrastructure, with opposition leading to hundreds of proposed and enacted moratoriums from New York to San Francisco. Meanwhile, a wave of startups is betting that consumers will hand AI agents access to their inboxes, files, and credit cards — if they can get websites to let them in .
On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Anthony Ha, Sean O’Kane, and Rebecca Bellan dig into whether ditching NDAs will change how data center deals get done, why trust may be the real product for personal AI startups, plus a couple of deals of the week.
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