Nvidia is in talks to invest up to $3 billion in SB Energy, a SoftBank subsidiary developing a massive data center campus for OpenAI in southern Ohio, according to a report by The Information. The potential equity stake is part of broader negotiations involving roughly $100 billion in credit support for the planned 10-gigawatt project.
The proposed deal would see Nvidia fund half of the $3 billion when the Ohio project agreement is signed, with the remaining investment tied to SB Energy’s planned initial public offering. SB Energy, which is also backed by OpenAI, could go public as soon as next month and raise at least $5 billion, according to the report.
From $250 Billion to $100 Billion
The investment talks follow a significant scaling back of Nvidia’s financial commitments to the Ohio project. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Nvidia revised its guarantee to under $120 billion, down from $250 billion previously discussed, after investors raised concerns about the chipmaker’s risk exposure to large financing commitments. The guarantee would help OpenAI secure debt financing to lease the 10-gigawatt campus being developed by SB Energy.
The Ohio project, if completed, would be the largest data center ever proposed. The facility’s power supply is controlled by the U.S. government and funded separately by Japan as part of a recent trade deal. The total project cost, including chip purchases, could exceed $500 billion.
Nvidia as Infrastructure Financier
The SB Energy investment represents a new dimension of Nvidia’s role in AI infrastructure, moving beyond chip sales into equity ownership of the energy and real estate ventures that power AI compute. Nvidia previously partnered with six major financial institutions to launch compute financing platforms aimed at raising over $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure.
For OpenAI, the arrangement offers a path toward controlling its own infrastructure instead of relying on Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle, according to Reuters. OpenAI is still negotiating a binding lease for the full 10-gigawatt Ohio project.
Nvidia, which has a market capitalization of $5.45 trillion, has been steadily expanding its financial commitments across the AI ecosystem. Earlier this year the company took a $30 billion equity stake in OpenAI’s $110 billion funding round and invested $2 billion in Nebius Group. The pattern has drawn scrutiny from analysts who warn of circular financing arrangements within the AI industry.
Sources: The Information; Reuters; The Wall Street Journal; Benzinga; CNBC
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