BlackRock CEO Larry Fink defended data center expansion on Wednesday, saying public fears about its environmental impact are largely based on misinformation. After the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings, he warned that halting construction could trigger a U.S. recession as the economy grows more dependent on AI-related capital spending.
Fink said data centers are creating significant numbers of jobs and are crucial to economic growth. He also outlined BlackRock's efforts to help create a securitization market for GPUs, aiming to give smaller companies access to financing for the computing assets they need to compete.