Can the AI industry persuade data center opponents by getting rid of NDAs?
9:52 AM PDT · October 11, 2026
Amazon recently followed Microsoft’s lead and said it will no longer use nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) while negotiating with local governments over data centers.
On the latest episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Sean O’Kane, Rebeccan Bellan and I discussed Amazon’s announcement, which came in the middle of a longer blog post making the case that data centers are actually good for communities.
Rebecca was a bit skeptical that the recent spate of data center moratoriums will have a lasting effect, especially since the moratoriums only last for a year or two and “these data centers aren’t coming online for the next two, three, four, five years,” though I countered that data center backers definitely seem worried.
Sean, meanwhile, suggested that a big reason for the backlash is the industry’s poor communication.
“We’ve seen, through a lot of the controversy and backlash to AI and data centers, that the industry just does a really poor job explaining itself, and that they are obviously and constantly frustrated with the fact that most people can’t envision a world in which this stuff is useful for them,” he said.
Keep reading for a preview of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.
Sean O’Kane: It’s an interesting thing that it was sort of buried in the blog post and part of a larger story that Amazon’s clearly trying to tell. I guess I understand why they weren’t putting it in the foreground, but to me, this is at the root of so many of the problems that the tech industry currently faces when it comes to AI broadly, but data centers in particular.
Amazon and others are done keeping data center deals secret. Is it enough to build trust? | Equity Podcast
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There are so many things that could be said about whether or not people should be worried about the effect that data centers have on their property values, on their electricity bills, on their water usage in the area, and whether or not those things are real problems, inflated problems, etc. etc.
I think so much of that just really goes back to the fact that a lot of these projects are being negotiated essentially in secret. Sometimes they’re being negotiated [with the public knowing] that it’s a data center, but just not knowing who’s actually going to use it or occupy it at any point.
This is a long-standing issue with the tech industry. I always go back to the mid-2010s when Uber was expanding really fast. Uber was one of the companies that really used this tactic a ton when it came to working with local governments. In particular, I remember I was working at The Verge at the time and we had a freelancer write a story about a city outside of Orlando where Uber was trying to negotiate tax subsidies to subsidize rides for people to use public transit after the Uber trip.
The whole thing was negotiated in secret. And not only that, which was frustrating on its face, but also, because of the secrecy, you could just see Uber getting really comfortable with asking for a lot of other stuff, too.
So there needs to be more of this. I’m glad Amazon’s doing this. We’ll see if it actually does have any positive effect, but people are pretty entrenched right now.
Rebecca Bellan: Yeah, I’m curious about what effect this will have and whether it will lead to communities successfully delaying or or killing any infrastructure that the companies need to build. What I’ve heard from some people I’ve spoken to, who deal with data centers every day, a lot of these moratoriums that are getting passed — and there are a significant number of them, including one recently in San Francisco, which is pretty ironic — but they’re only for like a year or two years.
But these data centers aren’t coming online for the next two, three, four, five years. All of the buildouts are going to be massively delayed for a number of reasons from zoning to funding. Of course, if the pushback keeps going, then it might have an effect, but I often wonder just how much of an effect this political pushback is having on this.
Anthony Ha: The moratorium I’m most familiar with is the one in New York. I believe it’s a one year moratorium, and that’s on permits for large projects. [Technically, it’s until the state finalizes an environmental review process, which is expected to take a year.]
So already, there’s some wiggle room within that. And often, they’re framed as: “It’s not like we think [data centers are] bad, let’s not do this. It’s [that] we need to take the time to study this.” Which gives them a lot of room to say later on, “Actually, we’ve decided this is great. We love it.”
But you can tell that the people trying to build these data centers are worried, which is why you have these unhinged tweets from people like Trump or David Sacks. Only time will tell in terms how long and how deep that [community] resistance is, but I do think they are worried.
It’s also noteworthy that Microsoft, earlier this year, made a similar announcement about not using NDAs. I don’t think that getting rid of the NDAs automatically is going to make the people who opposed these data centers be like, “Great, let’s let’s do it. I’m in.” But I think the beginning of that conversation is, “Well, we don’t even know what the heck you’re doing, because you’ve negotiated all this stuff in secret.” So it does seem like a good first step.
Sean: The larger problem here is just a communication problem, right? This is a problem I think that goes across the entire tech industry, but it’s especially acute now, because we’re living in the era of “going direct” and “you don’t need to talk to the media, the media is dead,” etc.
And I’m not trying to beat that horse, because we’re in the media and [we] think we’re still relevant. But we’ve seen, through a lot of the controversy and backlash to AI and data centers, that the industry just does a really poor job explaining itself, and that they are obviously and constantly frustrated with the fact that most people can’t envision a world in which this stuff is useful for them. And that’s because, a lot of time, the [technological] ability’s not there, and in part because they’re just not explaining it well.
I wrote a story last week about how it’s been a year since we’ve really heard Tesla beating its own drum about building towards what it originally was calling “sustainable abundance” and is now “amazing abundance” as its mission statement. It’s just wild to me that we’re a year into that, and the company still doesn’t have a very good definition of it, especially considering that they released this whole multi-page PDF laying it out when they announced this, and even Tesla’s biggest fans criticized Elon Musk and Tesla for how unspecific it was. It read like LLM nonsense.
Anthony: One of the things this has made me think about is just the narrative and this sense that for a while, it really felt like it was being pushed down our throats — this idea of, “This is inevitable, this AI-driven future, and get on board or you’re just going to be left behind.”
Obviously that future is barreling ahead in a lot of ways, but in a few key ways, there have been these obstacles. What I’ve really liked about that is this sense of “No, you actually have to make the case for it.” You can’t just say, “This is the future, shut up.”
And then specifically about Tesla and the abundance thing, what was shocking to me is not so much that they haven’t come up with a definition of abundance, but that that was a promise that they were making in the first place. I think [that] speaks to how strange our relationship to Tesla, and particularly the people who are invested and ride-or-die for Elon, [has become.] It’s not about, is this company going to sell a lot of cars? It’s about this vision for remaking society. Or at least, that’s what they’re being sold.
TechCrunch Mobility: A roadblock clears for self-driving trucks
9:02 AM PDT · October 11, 2026
Welcome back to TechCrunch Mobility, your hub for the future of transportation and now, more than ever, the role AI is playing in it. To get this in your inbox, sign up here for free — just click TechCrunch Mobility!
I’m back from a sojourn through New Hampshire’s White Mountains — a few days of respite before Disrupt 2026, TechCrunch’s annual tech conference in San Francisco. Now, after a few days immersed in fall colors, I am ready for the action. And there is gonna be a lot of it.
I want to see you all there, so here is a 30% discount on tickets to Disrupt with code mobility30. For more info on the show, scroll down.
Now, on to the news!
Self-driving truck companies Aurora Innovation and Kodiak AI received a federal exemption this week that removes a massive barrier to commercialization.
Under federal regulations, if a traditional big rig runs into trouble, the human driver must pull over, activate the hazard lights, and then physically place reflective warning triangles on the road within 10 minutes to alert other road users. But if a mechanical problem forces a self-driving truck to pull over, there’s no human driver to deploy those warning devices.
It was a big enough hurdle that Aurora took federal safety regulators to court over the requirement. After the court denied its request for an exemption, the company escalated the fight to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. (Companies did have a temporary waiver as it awaited a decision.)
Now Aurora and other self-driving truck developers have been given the green light from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The agency has granted a five-year exemption allowing companies to replace roadside warning devices, such as reflective warning triangles, with cab-mounted warning beacons. Check out Aurora’s first responders page to see how it works.
Daniel Goff, vice president of external affairs at Kodiak AI, said the exemption will help the industry “usher in an autonomous era of freight movement on U.S. roads, one that can save lives and improve the efficiency of goods delivery.”
Gerardo Interiano, Aurora’s head of government relations and public affairs, echoed that sentiment, saying the decision underscores the government’s recognition of the economic and community benefits of autonomous trucking. He described the high-visibility, cab-mounted warning beacons as a “critical, 21st-century solution that enhances roadside safety by immediately alerting other road users without ever needing to put a person in harm’s way.”
One question I’m left with: Could these cab-mounted warning beacons eventually become standard equipment across the entire trucking industry?
A little bird
It’s been a few months since Redwood Materials, the battery-recycling company started by Tesla co-founder JB Straubel, kicked off a restructuring to focus more on energy storage. The first stage of the restructuring involved laying off around 135 employees, or 10% of its workforce.
But a little bird recently told us that some more executives were on their way out the door. Sure enough, over the last few weeks, Redwood’s vice presidents of engineering, operations, treasury, and external affairs have all left the startup.
Got a tip for us? Email Kirsten Korosec at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com or my Signal at kkorosec.07, or email Sean O’Kane at sean.okane@techcrunch.com .
Deals!
Waymo has relied on capital from its parent company Alphabet and high-profile venture firms to fund its autonomous vehicle tech plans. This week, the company turned to debt financing for the first time for another bump. A $5 billion bump to be exact.
PIMCO, Blackstone, and Sixth Street were the lead lenders. But there were so many more, including Capital Group, Loomis Sayles, T. Rowe Price, Apollo, Blue Owl, Diameter Capital Partners, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity Management & Research Company, HPS Investment Partners, and Oaktree.
The debt financing comes as the company accelerates its commercial expansion within existing cities while pushing into new markets in the United States, Europe, and Japan.
Other deals that got my attention this week …
Bloom has raised $3.6 million to become the “Alibaba” of American manufacturing. The seed round was led by SNAK Venture Partners and included Flyover Capital, deep tech firm Mana Ventures, Detroit Venture Partners, Invest Detroit Ventures, and the Michigan Outdoor Innovation Fund.
Flai, a startup that developed AI software for dealerships, raised $27 million in a Series A funding round led by automation-focused firm Base10 Partners. The round included funding from dealers (Friedkin Group and Findlay Automotive), Toyota’s venture arm, Y Combinator, and First Round Capital.
Parallel Systems, a startup developing a rail vehicle capable of moving over several tons of freight as far as 500 miles without an operator, raised $100 million in a Series C round led by AVP, with participation from Hillspire, Agility Global, Cobalt Capital, Anthos Capital, Congruent Ventures, Riot Ventures, and Collaborative Fund.
Uber has agreed to buy catering company ezCater in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.3 billion.
Notable reads and other tidbits
Surveillance camera maker Flock cut its workforce by 18%, or around 270 employees, as the company faces ongoing and growing backlash to its license plate readers and people-tracking technology. FYI: Flock founder and CEO Garrett Langley will be at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.
Lucid Motors built 2,954 electric vehicles in the third quarter of this year, a 54% drop from a year ago, as the company purposely limits production to better meet demand for its EVs.
Kodiak AI has a new 435-mile autonomous route between Dallas and Laredo, Texas, with carrier Charger USA. The self-driving trucks startup is hauling refrigerated and dry freight for consumer packaged goods and for food and beverage customers.
Tesla changed the name of its advanced driver assistance system in Europe after pushback from Germany’s transportation ministry. It’s now called “ Tesla Assisted Driving” instead of “Full Self-Driving (Supervised).”
Uber and Chinese autonomous vehicle maker Pony.ai plan to launch a robotaxi service in London as part of an expanded partnership to bring driverless cars to Europe.
One more thing
Here’s a bit more info on TechCrunch Disrupt 2026!
I will kick off the conference on October 13 with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe. Senior reporter Sean O’Kane has a fireside interview with Agility Robotics CTO Jonathan Hurst, as well as a panel featuring Also CEO Chris Yu, General Catalyst’s Yuri Sagalov, and Shan Shan, investment manager at Baillie Gifford.
I will also interview Shield AI CTO Nathan Michael; Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun; and Mikell Taylor, director of robotics strategy at GM about building AI systems when failure isn’t an option. And I will interview Foxglove CEO Adrian MacNeil and Bedrock Robotics CTO Kevin Peterson about taking physical AI from prototype to product.
Not enough? OK, here ya go: We will also have Max Hodak, co-founder of Neuralink and founder of Science Corp.; Ricursive Intelligence co-founders Dr. Anna Goldie and Dr. Azalia Mirhoseini; Hello Robot co-founder and CEO Aaron Edsinger and their robot Stretch 4; and Mark Wahlberg. Plus, hear from engineers and execs from Anthropic, Gamma, Hugging Face, OpenAI, Nvidia, and Replit, as well as investors from Google Ventures, Greylock, Eclipse, Index Ventures, NEA, and Upfront Ventures (to name a few.)
