Nvidia is reportedly considering an extraordinary financing guarantee that could help OpenAI secure computing capacity from a planned data center complex in Ohio, deepening the financial ties between the companies developing artificial intelligence and those supplying the chips behind it.
According to Reuters, Nvidia is discussing a guarantee of approximately $250 billion to support OpenAI’s involvement in the project, citing a Wall Street Journal report based on people familiar with the talks. Bloomberg similarly reported that the negotiations remain at an early stage and could still collapse or emerge with different financing terms.
Guarantee Would Support a 10-Gigawatt Ohio Hub
The proposed arrangement is tied to a 10-gigawatt data center hub that SoftBank Group’s energy business is developing in southern Ohio.
The broader development could cost about $500 billion and that an Nvidia guarantee would allow SoftBank to borrow additional capital for construction. SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has previously placed the project’s possible cost at around that level, according to Bloomberg’s account.
The first construction phase is expected to provide roughly 800 megawatts of power by 2028. The full 10-gigawatt target would make the development one of the most ambitious computing infrastructure projects proposed during the AI investment boom.
Chip Purchases May Require Separate Financing
The reported $250 billion guarantee would cover obligations connected to OpenAI’s lease and the project’s debt financing, but it would not pay for the Nvidia processors installed inside the facilities.
Reuters also reported that Nvidia was separately discussing support for as much as $350 billion in OpenAI chip purchases. Such an arrangement could help finance OpenAI’s infrastructure while securing long-term demand for Nvidia’s hardware.
Bloomberg described the discussions as another example of increasingly circular AI financing, in which major technology companies help fund projects that may later become large customers for their own products and services.
OpenAI Seeks Greater Infrastructure Control
A completed agreement would represent an early step toward giving OpenAI greater control over the computing systems supporting its models, rather than depending mainly on rented infrastructure from Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle.
OpenAI has been in advanced discussions for several weeks about leasing capacity at the Ohio site. Anthropic, Microsoft and Google have also reportedly expressed interest in the project and discussed possible access with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The power connected to the project is controlled by the US government and is being funded separately by Japan under a trade agreement involving a $33 billion natural gas facility. Lutnick is reportedly involved in determining which companies will receive access.
Reuters said it could not independently confirm the Wall Street Journal’s account, while Nvidia, OpenAI and the US Commerce Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside normal business hours.
The discussions arrive as technology companies increasingly rely on debt, equity and corporate guarantees to finance AI infrastructure. Industry spending on such systems is expected to exceed $700 billion this year, showing how access to capital has become nearly as important as access to advanced chips.
