O'Leary Admits Messaging Failure on Utah Data Center Plan

Following the uproar, O'Leary pledged to reduce the size and offer greater transparency.

He said in the MS NOW interview that he has a lot of work to do and apologized to the residents of Box Elder.

"If I've said anything that offends you, yes, I apologize. If I've done anything that you think has been unfair, I apologize. I also, with that, would say I want you to lend an open ear to what I'm going to show you in the months ahead," he said.

O'Leary has stood firm on his decision to build a data center in Utah, saying in the MS NOW interview that although some people may view him as a "bad shark," he plans to become a "major contributor" to the local economy.

In a post on LinkedIn last week, the investor wrote: "Data center developers have to earn the trust of the communities where we build, and that starts with complete transparency." "That's exactly what we intend to do in Box Elder. We have work to do to earn the community's support, the facts will be public, from water and power to jobs and tax revenue," he wrote. "If you want to build in a community for decades, you have a responsibility to become an asset to it."

As of the end of 2025, there were 1,416 data centers built or approved for construction in 45 US states and Washington, DC, according to Business Insider's data center tracker.

Representatives for O'Leary's venture capital firm, O'Leary Ventures, did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.