Milei plots data center buildout in Patagonia

US tech firms facing increasing domestic backlash set their sights on rural Argentina as a regulation-free data center haven. Argentine President Javier Milei is pitching his country as a regulation-free “AI hub,” as US tech firms weigh building data centers abroad in the face of overwhelming domestic pushback. Milei, a self-described anarcho-capitalist, has pushed for a tax break for the facilities and touted Argentina’s “abundant energy” and “extensive, inhospitable land” as ideal for the rapid AI buildout. An energy executive planning a facility to power AI in rural Argentina told the Financial Times he was flooded with calls from potential US investors and clients, following midterm elections in which American voters resoundingly rejected data center construction: “[Argentina’s] coming late to the party, but it has huge potential to catch up.”