Nvidia backs OpenAI's Ohio data center with up to $105B in financing
What's the deal? Nvidia will provide up to $105 billion in financing for a new OpenAI data center in Ohio, a securities filing revealed on 17 August 2026. The credit supports an initial 4.25 gigawatts of computing capacity, with the option for an additional 3.75 gigawatts. Nvidia will supply the compute, with capacity expected to come online in phases starting 2028.
Who's building it? SB EnergyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → will build and operate the datacenter at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio, under a 20-year lease to OpenAI. Nvidia will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy, the SoftBankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →-backed developer, and OpenAI holds a stake in the company. OpenAI will only begin paying as capacity becomes available for lease.
The energy expansion: SB Energy and SoftBankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → will build power sources supporting 10 gigawatts of energy and invest at least $4.2 billion into regional grid infrastructure. OpenAI says the project will support 35,000 construction jobs through 2032 and 2,500 long-term positions.
What's the endgame? The center gives OpenAI more access to the high-end chips that underpin AI. "We are securing long-lived infrastructure for NVIDIA compute so OpenAI can deploy the most productive AI factories," said Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen HuangDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Why now? The final figure is smaller than earlier plans. Nvidia previously discussed a backstop of up to $250 billion for a 10-gigawatt buildout at the site, before reports on 10 August 2026 suggested it would cut the guarantee below $120 billion.
What could go wrong? The deal is Nvidia's latest financing maneuver to support the AI data center buildout, which has raised concerns about circular financing in the AI trade. On 10 August 2026, Nvidia joined six large asset managers to build platforms deploying $500 billion in third-party capital for datacenter projects.
The signal: Compute has become the defining constraint of the AI era. "Compute is really becoming the new oil, the new limited resource of the AI age," OpenAI president Greg Brockman told CNBCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
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Image credit: Thiện Ân
