Nvidia Weighs $250bn Guarantee for OpenAI Data Center

Nvidia is in talks to provide roughly $250bn in financing guarantees for OpenAI as part of a vast data center project, The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The backing would help the ChatGPT maker lease a 10-gigawatt facility being developed in southern Ohio by SoftBank’s energy subsidiary.

For OpenAI, the deal would mark a first step toward controlling its own infrastructure rather than renting it from Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle. For Nvidia, it would secure demand for its chips for years.

The project is expected to cost more than $500bn in total, including the chips inside the data center, according to the newspaper. The $250bn guarantee would cover the lease and debt financing, but not the chips. Nvidia is also discussing financing OpenAI chip purchases worth up to $350bn.

The first phase is expected to be completed in 2028 with around 800 megawatts of power. The electricity is controlled by the US government and funded separately by Japan under a recent trade agreement.

Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Nvidia, OpenAI and the US Department of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reuters, bak)