Utah data center backed by Shark Tank’s Kevin O’Leary draws BACKLASH

News Clip1:21MS NOW·UT·8/6/2026

A celebrity investor, Kevin O'Leary, is backing a proposal to build one of the world's largest data centers on a vast tract of land near Utah's Great Salt Lake. This ambitious project is drawing significant backlash and is contributing to a national debate surrounding AI infrastructure development.

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Utah's Great Salt Lake has become ground zero in the national debate over AI — with an audacious proposal from celebrity investor Kevin O'Leary, to turn a swath of land the size of Manhattan into one of the world's largest data centers. MS NOW's Josh Einiger reports from Utah, where he sat down with O'Leary to discuss the project and the backlash. MS NOW: My Source for News, Opinion, and the World. » Subscribe to MS NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@msnow » Subscribe to MS NOW’s We the People Newsletter for exclusive content from your favorite MS NOW anchors. Sign up now for free at https://ms.now/joinus MS NOW is the go-to destination for domestic and international breaking news, and best-in-class opinion journalism. For more context and news coverage of the most important stories of our day click here: https://www.ms.now/