Nvidia has announced it will provide up to $105 billion in financing to support credit and compute for a new artificial intelligence data center for OpenAI in Ohio, according to a securities filing released on Monday [1]. The financing will back an initial 4.25 gigawatts of computing capacity, with an option to expand by an additional 3.75 gigawatts. The data center’s capacity is expected to come online in phases starting in 2028 [1].
SB Energy will be responsible for building and managing the data center at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike City, Ohio, under a 20-year lease to OpenAI. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was an early investor in SB Energy, and the company has a stake in the project [1]. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated, “We are securing long-lived infrastructure for NVIDIA compute so OpenAI can deploy the most productive AI factories that can be upgraded repeatedly with each new generation delivering more intelligence and better economics” [1].
The deal is part of Nvidia’s broader strategy to support the rapid expansion of AI data centers. Last week, Nvidia arranged $500 billion in financing for customers to purchase its hardware for data center projects, raising some concerns about circular financing in the AI sector [1]. As part of the Ohio project, SB Energy and SoftBank will build power sources supporting 10 gigawatts of energy and invest at least $4.2 billion in grid infrastructure for the region. Nvidia will also invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy [1].
OpenAI projects that the new data center will create 35,000 new construction jobs through 2032 and 2,500 long-term positions. The facility will provide OpenAI with greater access to high-end chips and compute power, which are essential for advancing AI technologies. OpenAI President Greg Brockman emphasized the importance of compute, describing it as “the new oil, the new limited resource of the AI age” [1].
CONCLUSION
Nvidia’s $105 billion financing commitment marks a significant escalation in the AI infrastructure race, positioning both Nvidia and OpenAI at the forefront of next-generation data center development. The project is expected to have a substantial economic and technological impact, creating tens of thousands of jobs and reinforcing the critical role of compute power in the AI industry.