OKLAHOMA CITY — Executives from Amazon and Nvidia stated on Thursday that the development of artificial intelligence data centers continues unabated, despite recession concerns causing some investors to wonder if tech firms might scale back their plans. “There has been no significant change, ” said Kevin Miller, Amazon’s vice president of global data centers, at a conference hosted by the Hamm Institute for American Energy. “We continue to observe very strong demand, both in the near term and long term, and expect the numbers to keep rising. ” These remarks contrast with growing Wall Street worries about tech companies altering their data center expansion strategies. On Monday, Wells Fargo analysts noted that Amazon Web Services is pausing certain data center lease commitments, based on industry sources. While the extent of this pause wasn’t clear, it sparked fears that Amazon could be making moves similar to Microsoft’s recent decision to scale back some early-stage projects. Miller dismissed such concerns, saying there has been “too much guesswork and speculation leading to odd conclusions” about Amazon’s intentions. Similarly, Nvidia has not observed any slowdown, according to Josh Parker, the company’s senior director of corporate sustainability. “We have not seen any pullback, ” Parker stated.

Earlier this year, shares of power companies fell after China’s AI startup DeepSeek raised worries that its more efficient AI model might reduce energy demands for data centers. However, Parker believes Nvidia will see increasing requirements for computing power and energy due to AI, calling the market reaction to DeepSeek “a knee-jerk response. ” Jack Clark, co-founder of Anthropic, noted that by 2027, about 50 gigawatts of new power capacity—roughly equivalent to 50 nuclear plants—will be necessary to support AI growth. “Anthropic and other AI firms are driving remarkable expansion in the need for new baseload power. We are witnessing unprecedented growth, ” Clark said. These executives spoke at a conference in Oklahoma City organized by the Hamm Institute, where tech and energy company representatives gathered to discuss how the U. S. can meet AI’s expanding energy demands. Both sectors increasingly agree that natural gas will play a vital role in fulfilling these power needs.