The urgent ad intervention comes as public opinion against data centers has been growing stronger|Catboy69|CC BY 4.0

Tech billionaires are pouring millions of dollars into advertising campaigns across Ohio, Wisconsin, and Kansas to promote the benefits of AI data centers and address growing public opposition to their expansion.

According to Bloomberg, the Build American AI group, funded by venture capitalists including Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz and OpenAI President Greg Brockman, is backing the ad campaigns.

The coalition argues that resistance to data center development could threaten domestic jobs and weaken the United States’ position as a global leader in artificial intelligence.

However, the advertising push comes as public opposition to data centers continues to grow.

An August survey by the University of Pennsylvania found that 61% of US adults oppose new data center builds in their communities. It is a sharp rise from just 12% in a March survey.