Nvidia reportedly in talks to back OpenAI’s planned Ohio data center with $250 billion guarantee

Nvidia is reportedly in talks to provide roughly $250 billion in financing guarantees for OpenAI as part of a proposed artificial intelligence data center project in southern Ohio.

The move could help finance what would become one of the largest artificial intelligence data center projects ever proposed in the United States.

According to Reuters, citing a Wall Street Journal report, the financing guarantee would help OpenAI lease a planned 10-gigawatt data center campus being developed by SB Energy, the energy subsidiary of Japan-based SoftBank. The campus is expected to cost more than $500 billion when completed, including the computer chips installed inside the facility.

The proposed guarantee would cover the data center lease and debt financing but would not include Nvidia’s semiconductor chips. The Wall Street Journal also reported Nvidia is discussing financing OpenAI’s chip purchases, which could total as much as $350 billion.

If completed, the arrangement would mark OpenAI’s first major step toward operating its own computing infrastructure rather than relying on cloud providers such as Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle. For Nvidia, the agreement would help secure long-term demand for its artificial intelligence chips.

Reuters reported OpenAI has been in advanced discussions for several weeks about leasing the Ohio facility.  Anthropic, Microsoft and Google have also reportedly discussed the project with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

The first phase of the proposed campus is expected to be completed in 2028 with approximately 800 megawatts of power. At full build-out, the facility would require about 10 gigawatts of electricity.

Reuters reported that Nvidia’s financing guarantee is intended to reassure lenders backing the project. OpenAI has not yet achieved investment-grade credit, making financing guarantees an important part of the proposed arrangement.

Power for the campus would come from infrastructure funded separately under the U.S.-Japan Strategic Trade and Investment Agreement. As part of that agreement, Japan committed approximately $33 billion toward a natural gas power project supporting the Ohio development.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Lutnick is involved in determining which companies will receive access to the federally controlled power.

Neither Nvidia, OpenAI nor the U.S. Commerce Department immediately responded to Reuters’ requests for comment. Reuters said it could not independently verify the Wall Street Journal’s reporting.

The discussions come days after reports that Intel could secure another manufacturing partner for its delayed semiconductor campus in New Albany, continuing a series of high-profile technology investment announcements in Ohio.

Ohio.News recently reported that Intel is exploring a potential partnership with South Korean semiconductor manufacturer SK Hynix that could help accelerate construction of its delayed $28 billion Ohio One semiconductor campus by increasing customer demand for its fabrication plants.

Data centers have also become an issue in Ohio’s gubernatorial race.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Dr. Amy Acton on July 27 announced she supports a conditional moratorium on future data center development unless projects meet several requirements, including covering all utility costs, using union labor during construction, operating with greater transparency, complying with Ohio environmental standards, supporting local communities and bringing jobs to former industrial areas.

“As governor, I will take immediate action and support a conditional moratorium on data centers to ensure they cover one hundred percent of their utility costs, exclusively build with union labor, operate with full transparency, adhere to Ohio’s environmental standards, support the needs of local communities, and bring jobs to former industrial areas that have been left behind,” Acton said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy blasted Acton for taking a stance similar to Ramaswamy’s.

“Vivek has spent more than a year taking tough questions from Ohioans on this issue, while Amy Acton has spent months in hiding,” campaign spokesperson Evan Machan said in a statement to Ohio.News. “She finally spoke up, only to parrot ideas Vivek has shared for months and pretend it’s new. Let’s see if the media falls for it.”