CoreWeave (CRWV.US) Sends Letter to Texas Governor-Elect Seeking "Data Center Consultation"

CoreWeave (CRWV.US) Sends Letter to Texas Governor-Elect Seeking "Data Center Consultation" AI infrastructure company CoreWeave is directly responding to Texas's policy shift, proactively seeking dialogue with the newly elected governor. According to media reports on November 8, CoreWeave co-founder and CEO Michael Intrator sent a letter to Texas Governor-Elect Gina Hinojosa, expressing willingness to work with her transition team on "the responsible advancement of already-approved projects" and "clear, durable standards for future development." Hinojosa is Texas's first Democratic governor in more than 30 years, and one of her core campaign promises was a moratorium on new data center approvals, and she has publicly stated she will not lift the freeze until protective legislation is in place. The letter comes against the backdrop of profound political shifts following the U.S. midterm elections. Democrats won gubernatorial races in multiple states, generally running on platforms of stricter data center regulation. Goldman Sachs previously estimated that Democratic victories across states would put approximately 45% of planned U.S. data center expansion capacity at risk of short-term moratoriums, with Texas alone accounting for about 25%. Approximately 13GW of Texas data center capacity is directly exposed to policy risk. CoreWeave Expresses Support for Regulatory Principles According to reports, in the open letter, Michael Intrator stated that CoreWeave "strongly supports" Hinojosa's principled position that data center growth must benefit Texans. "We welcome working with your transition team on the responsible advancement of already-approved projects, as well as clear, durable standards for future development," he said. Hinojosa articulated her governing philosophy in a post-election interview with CNN: "Texas has always been a pro-business state, but with me as governor, the change is that this must be a partnership that benefits Texans." CoreWeave responded positively to this position in its letter, with Michael Intrator stating: "You have made clear that data center growth must benefit Texas, and we strongly support these principles." According to a Wallstreetcn article, Hinojosa stated explicitly in a CNN interview on November 6 local time: "We will craft laws to protect Texas residents, and until those protections are in place, we need a pause on what's happening with data centers right now." She added: "I don't hate data centers. I hate the way they're taking advantage of Texas. When I'm governor, that will stop." When asked how she would deal with tech giants, Hinojosa said she could build a working relationship with Musk and his companies, "but it has to be on our terms." This statement drew her negotiating bottom line: Texas does not reject tech investment, but will not accept the previous model of developer-led, government-accommodating arrangements. NBC exit poll data showed that 75% of Texas voters oppose new data centers being built in their communities. During the campaign, Hinojosa accused data center developers of "driving up our electricity bills and draining our water resources," and defeated Republican incumbent Governor Abbott with approximately 52.8% to 45.7% of the vote. Moratorium Tied to Legislative Process, Unfreezing Earliest by May Next Year According to the Wallstreetcn article, Hinojosa's statements effectively link the timeline for unfreezing data center approvals directly to the legislative process. Goldman Sachs analyst Jonathan Leitol previously confirmed that she "will not lift the freeze until more comprehensive regulatory legislation is passed." The 90th Texas Legislature will convene on January 12, 2027, with the regular session ending on May 31, 2027. This means the data center approval freeze may not loosen until the end of May next year at the earliest. GLJ Research estimates that approximately 13GW of Texas data center capacity is directly exposed to policy riskenough to power approximately 10 million households. Wells Fargo calculates that every 10% reduction in Texas data centers would cause an approximately 1.6% impact on total U.S. AI capital expenditure. Based on BloombergNEF (BNEF) estimates of approximately US$1.76 billion in revenue per GW per month for AI capacity, if 13GW is delayed by 12 to 18 months, the deferred AI revenue would be approximately US$275 billion to US$410 billion. For AI infrastructure companies, the uncertainty of Texas policy direction directly affects their expansion pace and capital planning. CoreWeave's proactive letter is precisely an effort to seek policy-level certainty in this context. Texas Becomes a "Template," Regulatory Tightening Wave May Spread to Multiple States According to midterm election results, Democrats currently hold 29 governorships across the country, with several governors calling for moratoriums on data center construction in their jurisdictions in response to widespread voter dissatisfaction with the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure. According to the Wallstreetcn article, Wolfe Research analysts have characterized Texas as a "template state for the anti-AI construction movement." Newly elected Democratic governors in Georgia, Ohio, Michigan, and other states all ran on platforms of stricter data center regulation, and Jefferies expects "anti-data center actions will continue to spread to multiple state legislatures in 2027." Hinojosa will formally take office in January 2027. Before then, whether CoreWeave and other AI infrastructure companies can secure a clearer policy framework through dialogue will remain a focus of market attention. This article is reprinted from "Wallstreetcn," author: Dong Jing; GMTEight editor: Liu Jiayin.