Nvidia is in talks to provide roughly $250 billion in financing guarantees for OpenAI as part of a massive data center project. Nvidia's backing would help the ChatGPT maker lease a 10-gigawatt project that SoftBank's energy subsidiary is developing in southern Ohio. For OpenAI, a deal would be the first step toward controlling its own infrastructure instead of renting it from Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle, for Nvidia, it would guarantee demand for its chips for years to come.
The project is reportedly expected to cost more than $500 billion in total, including the chips inside the data center.
The $250 billion guarantee covers the data center lease and debt financing, but would not cover the Nvidia chips inside the center. The report added that the chipmaker was also discussing financing OpenAI's chip purchases worth up to $350 billion.
Nvidia's backing would support financing vehicles aimed at reassuring lenders about the project's funding, the report added.
The first phase of the project is expected to be finished in 2028, with around 800 megawatts of power, the report said.
The deal underscores a broader shift as tech giants increasingly tap debt and equity markets to fund AI infrastructure, with spending set to top $700 billion this year.
