Kevin O'Leary 'rushing' Utah data center because of competition

Kevin O'Leary, a prominent business mogul, has publicly stated he is "rushing" the planned Stratos Data Center project in Box Elder County, Utah. He justified the accelerated timeline by citing intense competition and high demand from potential tenants, remarking that the scale of this project's planning has been unprecedented in its speed. O'Leary's comments were made during a virtual appearance at a meeting of the Utah Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) board, where members subsequently voted to advance the project. He expressed astonishment at the pace, saying, "No one has pulled this off this fast ever." While O'Leary views the acceleration as a positive, opponents of the data center project see it as a cause for concern, suggesting a need to pause development. Governor Spencer Cox, however, supported the rapid progression, criticizing the lengthy timelines often associated with such projects in the U.S. and stating, "If you can't put this here, then we can't put them anywhere." O'Leary also noted the aggressive power infrastructure build-out for AI data centers in China, contrasting it with the U.S. approach.