The Verge's investigation into Kevin O'Leary's Stratos project, also called Wonder Valley, shows how the plan to build the world's largest data center in Utah collapsed. The project was announced in late April with little prior public knowledge, and it promised a 40,000-acre AI campus with nine gigawatts of power—more than double the state's average electricity consumption.
The project was routed through the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA), a state agency with power to override local land use, essentially acting as the municipal government for the project area. That structure meant most residents and local officials learned about the plan only when O'Leary went public, fueling anger and a political firestorm that ultimately stopped the project.
The backlash escalated when O'Leary described his critics as Chinese spies on Fox News, prompting an on-air apology and a defamation lawsuit. Dzieza draws parallels to the Foxconn project in Wisconsin, but notes that data centers are actually being built—yet the Utah case shows how local democracy remains a hurdle the AI industry cannot simply spend its way around.