OpenAI quietly rebrands data centers as 'compute campuses'
Launching its Grid Protectors Program, OpenAI favored the term 'compute campus' over 'data center', a change activist groups call a cosmetic fix.
By GennnAi··1 min read
The program, announced Monday, starts with an upcoming site in Effingham County, Georgia, and addresses strain on local power grids. It promises to "pay the costs we create." In the roughly 900-word announcement, "data center" appears twice. Axios reported the rebrand was tied to a policy and PR push after the midterms. PauseAI US and the NAACP criticized it as public relations; OpenAI did not respond to The Verge.
Source: The Verge, published on November 3, 2026.