OpenAI will press ahead with its US data-centre expansion plans despite a Democratic midterm sweep this week that has fueled fears of tighter scrutiny of the facilities, its Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told CNBC in an interview on Friday.

“When I think about the midterms, I need to keep thinking about how do we keep investing to meet customer demand,” Friar said. “We are going to keep building out those relationships with communities so we can get the compute we need,” she added.

One of the corporate faces of the AI boom, OpenAI has moved quickly ⁠to counter ​fears that a shift in congressional power could slow the industry’s growth. It launched a charm offensive on Thursday to win over communities as opposition to data centres becomes a rallying point for anxieties about the technology.

As part of the efforts, OpenAI said it will no longer use non-disclosure agreements with public ​officials ​when negotiating or discussing future sites.…