Amazon announced it would stop using NDAs when negotiating data center contracts with local governments, following a similar move by Microsoft earlier this year. The secrecy has fueled a community backlash against AI infrastructure, and protests have led to hundreds of proposed and enacted moratoriums from New York to San Francisco. Meanwhile, a wave of startups is betting that consumers will hand over access to AI agents if they can get a website that grants them access to their inboxes, files, and credit cards.
In this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Anthony Ha, Sean O’Kane, and Rebecca Bellan dig into whether eliminating NDAs will change the way data center deals are done, why trust is a real commodity for private AI startups, and share some of the deals of the week.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about what’s next.
Ghost’s $3,499 computer built to run AI agents around the clock and why equity guys aren’t taking it to the mass market Tab, Underdog and Herc tout privacy as their product, plus a business model that turns agents into salespeople Uber’s $2.3 billion all-cash deal to enter the office catering space with ezCater
See you next week at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026! Use code Equity25 to get 25% off your tickets. See you on Tuesday at 9am on the Builders Stage.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, and all casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads at @EquityPod.
