Amazon drops NDAs on data center deals, following Microsoft

Amazon's decision to stop using NDAs in data center negotiations with local governments follows Microsoft's similar move earlier this year. The shift comes as secrecy around AI infrastructure has fueled community backlash, with opposition leading to hundreds of proposed and enacted moratoriums from New York to San Francisco.

The Equity podcast episode also touched on broader industry dynamics, including a wave of startups betting that consumers will hand AI agents access to their inboxes, files, and credit cards — if they can get websites to let them in. The discussion covered whether ditching NDAs will change how data center deals get done and why trust may be the real product for personal AI startups.

Other items in the episode included Ghost's $3,499 computer built to run AI agents around the clock, which the Equity crew doesn't see going mass market, and Tab, Underdog, and Hark pitching privacy as their product, plus a business model that could turn your agent into a salesperson. United, Apple, and Amazon were noted as putting up walls against outside agents.