Nvidia will provide up to $105 billion in financing for a new AI data center for OpenAI in Ohio, according to a securities filing made public on Monday. The credit supports an initial 4.25 gigawatts of computing capacity, with an option for an additional 3.75 gigawatts. Nvidia will supply the compute, with capacity phased in starting in 2028.

SB Energy will build and manage the facility at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike City, Ohio, under a 20-year lease to OpenAI. OpenAI holds a stake in SB Energy, and CEO Sam Altman was an early investor in the company. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said the move secures long-lived infrastructure for Nvidia compute, allowing OpenAI to deploy AI factories that can be upgraded with each new generation.

CNBC had previously reported Nvidia was in talks to provide a backstop of up to $250 billion for a 10-gigawatt data center at the same site. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Nvidia planned to cut that guarantee to less than $120 billion. The final $105 billion figure is lower than both earlier reports.

The deal is part of Nvidia's broader push into financing AI infrastructure, which has raised concerns about circular financing in the AI trade. Last week, Nvidia joined six large asset managers to create platforms for deploying $500 billion in third-party capital for data center projects.

As part of the Ohio deal, SB Energy and SoftBank will build power sources supporting 10 gigawatts of energy and invest at least $4.2 billion in regional grid infrastructure. Nvidia will invest $1.5 billion in SB Energy. OpenAI says the data center will support 35,000 construction jobs through 2032 and 2,500 long-term positions.

OpenAI President Greg Brockman called compute a "fundamental resource," saying it is becoming "the new oil, the new limited resource of the AI age." The facility gives OpenAI more direct access to high-end chips and compute power that underpin AI systems.

Source: CNBC