Nvidia to Provide Up to $105 Billion in Backing for OpenAI’s Ohio Data Center

Nvidia Corp. plans to provide large-scale financial backing for a massive data center in Ohio that will be used by OpenAI.

Bloomberg reported on August 17 that Nvidia will provide as much as $105 billion of support for the first phase of OpenAI’s data center project in Pike County, Ohio. That phase covers 4.25 gigawatts of capacity. The support is set to begin in stages from 2028 to 2030 and continue for 20 years. Nvidia may also extend additional backing to the second phase, which would add 3.75 gigawatts.

OpenAI has agreed to secure a total of 8 gigawatts of computing capacity at the data center campus. The first 800 megawatts are due to begin operating in 2028. OpenAI will start paying only when computing capacity is up and running and available for lease.

The facility will use Nvidia semiconductors and computing systems on a large scale. Nvidia said OpenAI’s purchases of its equipment, including for this project, could translate into about $600 billion in revenue by 2030.

Nvidia said the $105 billion would not be a direct investment in construction costs or a guarantee of financing for the entire project. Nor would it guarantee all of OpenAI’s lease obligations. The company said its financial support would be provided in line with the project’s development stages.

Investors are also watching whether the arrangement could be viewed as circular financing, an issue that has recently stirred debate in the AI industry. The term refers to a structure in which a supplier funds a customer and the customer then uses that money to buy the supplier’s products.

Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang rejected that characterization. “OpenAI pays rent,” he said. Nvidia is helping secure key inputs when customer demand is confirmed and long-term production capacity needs to be expanded.

Separately, Nvidia agreed to invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, a SoftBank Group affiliate that will build, own and operate the data center.

If completed as planned, the Ohio campus would be one of the world’s largest AI data center complexes. The relationship between Nvidia and OpenAI is broadening beyond semiconductor supply into large-scale AI infrastructure development and financial backing.