Inside Nvidia's Proposed Bet on the OpenAI Ohio Data Campus

Chipmaker Nvidia is in discussions to invest as much as $3 billion in SB Energy, the SoftBank Group unit that is developing a large data center campus in Ohio for OpenAI, according to a Saturday report by The Information. The proposed investment would form part of talks involving Nvidia, OpenAI and SB Energy over roughly $100 billion in credit support for the planned campus, the outlet said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

Under the structure being discussed, Nvidia would put in about half of the $3 billion when the Ohio project agreement is signed, and the remainder as part of SB Energy's expected initial public offering. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the report, and Nvidia and SB Energy did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.

SB Energy, founded in 2019 and also backed by OpenAI, has been building data center campuses to meet rising demand for AI workloads. A separate report by The Wall Street Journal said Nvidia has revised its support for the proposed OpenAI data center in Ohio, and is now expected to initially guarantee less than $120 billion, down from an earlier discussion around $250 billion.

Where the SB Energy IPO and Credit Terms Change the Stakes

How the Investment Would Work

If completed as reported, the capital would arrive in two stages: roughly $1.5 billion when the Ohio project agreement is signed, and the other half in connection with SB Energy's planned IPO. That structure links part of Nvidia's commitment to the public listing, which The Information said could happen as soon as next month and could raise at least $5 billion. In practice, the second tranche would give Nvidia a stake tied to how the market values SB Energy's AI data center pipeline.

Why the Financing Numbers Matter

The report describes a much larger credit support discussion of about $100 billion for the Ohio campus, while The Wall Street Journal reported that Nvidia has already scaled back its intended support from around $250 billion to less than $120 billion. That reduction suggests Nvidia is willing to participate strategically but is also managing how much financial and infrastructure risk it takes on a single project, even one built around OpenAI's compute demand.

Strategic Angle: Nvidia, OpenAI and SoftBank

The proposed investment would deepen Nvidia's involvement beyond selling chips into the actual data center infrastructure layer. OpenAI would gain a better-capitalized facility development partner, and SoftBank could use Nvidia's involvement to support SB Energy's IPO while funding more AI-focused campuses. Still, the terms are unconfirmed and renegotiable, so the final commitments could differ materially from the reported figures.

What Nvidia, OpenAI and SB Energy Stakeholders Should Watch Next

  • Watch for confirmation from Nvidia or SB Energy on the proposed $3 billion investment and the size of the credit support package, since the reported figures remain unverified.
  • Track SB Energy's IPO filing, which could come as soon as next month; the split structure means Nvidia's second tranche may be priced at the listing.
  • Compare any disclosed Nvidia guarantee with the reported reduction from $250 billion to less than $120 billion to gauge how much AI infrastructure risk Nvidia is willing to carry on the Ohio campus.
  • For data center operators and AI infrastructure suppliers, the roughly $100 billion credit support talks signal continued capacity build-out for OpenAI-scale workloads, but terms could still change before any agreement is signed.

Risk & Opportunity Assessment

Commercial RiskMediumThe investment and credit support figures are based on unverified talks, and Nvidia's reported shift from $250 billion to less than $120 billion shows the financing commitment could be reduced further.
Competitive RiskMediumA stake in SB Energy would tie Nvidia, OpenAI and SoftBank more closely together in AI data center infrastructure while rival AI platforms and cloud operators build competing campuses.
Regulatory RiskLowThe report does not identify a specific regulatory obstacle, though large Ohio data center and energy projects can still face local permitting and utility approval requirements.
Reputation RiskLowThe story is based on unnamed sources and the companies have not commented; if the terms change, the reputational impact is likely limited at this stage.
Technology DisruptionHighThe reported $100 billion credit support package for an OpenAI-focused data center campus reflects rapid build-out of infrastructure dedicated to AI workloads.
Commercial OpportunityHighSB Energy's possible IPO next month, which could raise at least $5 billion, offers Nvidia a timed entry point while helping OpenAI secure large-scale compute capacity.