Nvidia is in talks with OpenAI to provide financial guarantees of approximately $250 billion for the construction of a massive data center in Ohio.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the 10-gigawatt project is being developed by SoftBank’s energy division, with total investment potentially exceeding $500 billion. Nvidia’s guarantees are expected to help OpenAI lease the facility and secure debt financing.
For OpenAI, this project would mark the first step toward establishing its own computing infrastructure, moving away from leasing capacity from Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle. Meanwhile, Nvidia aims to secure long-term demand for its AI accelerators. Sources indicate the company is also discussing financing up to $350 billion in chip purchases for OpenAI, though these supplies are separate from the financial guarantee package.
The first phase of the data center, with a capacity of around 800 megawatts, is scheduled to come online in 2028. The project is supported under a U.S.-Japan agreement that includes Japanese investment in the construction of a gas-fired power plant. Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google have also shown interest in the site.
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