# Nvidia backs $105bn financing for OpenAI's Ohio data centre

> Nvidia will guarantee up to $105bn in financing for OpenAI's Ohio data centre.

*The chipmaker will guarantee financing for a 4.25-gigawatt campus it also supplies with compute, reviving circularity concerns.*

By Behzad Hosseini · FeaturedDaily
Canonical: https://featureddaily.com/news/nvidia-backs-105bn-financing-for-openai-s-ohio-data-centre

**What happened:** An SEC filing on 17 August 2026 showed Nvidia will provide up to $105 billion in financing support for a new OpenAI data centre at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio, according to [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/17/nvidia-financing-open-ai-data-center-ohio.html).

**The numbers:** The project starts at 4.25 gigawatts, with an option for another 3.75 GW. The first 800 megawatts are due online in 2028.

**The details:** SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary in which OpenAI holds a stake and where Sam Altman was an early investor, will build and run the site, then lease it to OpenAI for 20 years. Nvidia also supplies the compute.

**The catch:** Nvidia's commitment is mostly guarantees, not cash, capped at $105 billion and tied to the residual value of the leased infrastructure. If SB Energy defaults, Nvidia covers the gap between a guaranteed value and what's recovered. OpenAI has agreed to repay Nvidia for anything it pays out.

**The context:** SB Energy and SoftBank will also build power for 10 GW and invest at least $4.2 billion in the regional grid. Nvidia is putting $1.5 billion into SB Energy directly. OpenAI says the project will bring 35,000 construction jobs through 2032 and 2,500 long-term jobs.

**Who's affected:** Earlier reports had Nvidia weighing a backstop of up to $250 billion for 10 GW, later cut to under $120 billion before settling at $105 billion.

**The rivals:** A week earlier, Nvidia signed deals with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR to raise more than $500 billion in outside capital for AI infrastructure, per [Data Center Knowledge](https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-construction/nvidia-backs-openai-s-ohio-data-center-buildout-with-105b-guarantee).

**In their words:** Jensen Huang, Nvidia's chief executive, said: "We are securing long-lived infrastructure for NVIDIA compute so OpenAI can deploy the most productive AI factories."

**Why it matters:** Critics call the arrangement circular financing, with Nvidia backing the same customer it sells chips to. Huang rejects that characterisation.

**What's next:** Construction proceeds toward the 2028 target for the first 800 MW, with the larger 4.25 GW buildout to follow.

## Key takeaways

- Nvidia guarantees up to $105bn for OpenAI's Pike County campus
- SB Energy builds and leases the site to OpenAI for 20 years
- Critics call the arrangement circular financing; Huang disagrees

## Sources

- [Nvidia backing $105 billion in financing for OpenAI data center in Ohio](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/17/nvidia-financing-open-ai-data-center-ohio.html) — CNBC, 2026-08-17
- [Nvidia Backs OpenAI's Ohio Data Center Buildout With $105B Guarantee](https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-construction/nvidia-backs-openai-s-ohio-data-center-buildout-with-105b-guarantee) — Data Center Knowledge, 2026-08-18