TLDR
- Nvidia committed up to $105 billion in guarantees supporting OpenAI’s planned Ohio AI data center campus.
- Nvidia will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, which is developing the Ohio AI campus.
- OpenAI will lease the Ohio campus while SB Energy builds, owns and operates the facility.
- Nvidia initially secured about 4.25 gigawatts of capacity, with options for roughly 3.8 gigawatts more.
- The Ohio AI campus is expected to begin bringing computing capacity online in phases during 2028.
Nvidia has agreed to provide up to $105 billion in lease guarantees for an OpenAI data center in Ohio, extending the chipmaker’s role from AI hardware into infrastructure financing.
Nvidia Backs OpenAI Ohio Data Center
Nvidia will provide credit support for up to $105 billion in lease payments tied to an AI campus being developed for OpenAI in Pike County, Ohio. SoftBank-backed SB Energy will build, own and operate the site under a 20-year lease with OpenAI.
The project will start with 4.25 gigawatts of computing capacity, with operations expected to begin in phases from 2028. Nvidia will supply the AI computing infrastructure and provide financial support tied to land, power and construction for the initial development.
Nvidia also secured an option for another 3.75 GW, which would raise its potential capacity at the campus to 8 GW. The structure links Nvidia more closely to the facilities that will house and operate its AI systems.
Nvidia Invests $1.5 Billion in SB Energy
Nvidia will separately invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy as part of the agreement. The investment adds another financial commitment to a project expected to require large amounts of power, computing equipment and supporting infrastructure.
SB Energy and SoftBank Group plan to develop at least 10 GW of new power generation. They also plan to invest $4.2 billion in regional grid infrastructure through a partnership with AEP Ohio.
OpenAI expects the Ohio project to support about 35,000 construction jobs through 2032 and around 2,500 long-term operating positions. The campus forms part of a wider expansion of U.S. infrastructure designed to provide computing capacity for increasingly large AI models.
OpenAI Compute Spending Could Reach $600 Billion
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said OpenAI’s spending on Nvidia-powered computing capacity could total about $600 billion through 2030. The Ohio development adds to a series of projects aimed at securing enough computing resources to meet that demand.
The latest commitment also follows a $1 billion investment announced by OpenAI and SoftBank in January to expand data center and power infrastructure supporting their Stargate AI initiative.
Nvidia has also been expanding financing arrangements around AI infrastructure. The company recently partnered with six financial institutions on computing-finance platforms targeting more than $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure.
The Ohio agreement places Nvidia across several parts of the project, including computing hardware, financing and capacity. OpenAI, meanwhile, gains access to a large dedicated campus as it expands its long-term computing infrastructure in the United States.
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