Nvidia to back $105B Ohio data center for OpenAI

Nvidia has announced it will provide up to $105 billion in financing for a massive data center campus in Ohio, to be built and operated by SB Energy, a SoftBank Group subsidiary, with OpenAI as the anchor tenant under a 20-year lease. The project, registered with the U.S. SEC, aims to meet growing AI infrastructure demand and is expected to generate 35,000 construction jobs over six years and 2,500 long-term operational roles Source: infobae. The campus, named Ports-Pike, will have an initial capacity of 4.25 gigawatts (GW), expandable to 8 GW, with the first 800 megawatts available by 2028 Source: infobae.

Financing details

Nvidia's commitment includes a $1.5 billion equity investment in SB Energy to support its evolution as a leading AI infrastructure developer Source: infobae. However, reports differ on the total investment: infobae cites $105 billion, while La República, citing The Information, reports that Nvidia is negotiating to provide at least $100 billion in credit support and up to $3 billion in equity Source: larepublicaco. The financing is subject to conditions, including SB Energy enabling services through the data center by 2028 Source: infobae.

Reactions and impact

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang emphasized the project's role in ensuring durable infrastructure for Nvidia computing, enabling OpenAI to deploy productive AI factories Source: infobae. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman highlighted the center's capacity to help millions use AI for tasks like drug discovery and entrepreneurship Source: infobae. Additionally, OpenAI will invest $84 million to provide ChatGPT access to all Ohio university students Source: infobae. SB Energy co-CEO Rich Hossfeld stressed the project's focus on energy-centric infrastructure and community revitalization in southern Ohio Source: infobae.