Nvidia is reportedly in talks to provide around $250 billion in financing guarantees for OpenAI as part of a large-scale AI data center project, according to a report by a financial publication.
The proposed financing would help OpenAI lease a 10-gigawatt data center being developed by SoftBank’s energy subsidiary in southern Ohio. If completed, the project would mark OpenAI’s first major step toward owning and controlling its AI infrastructure instead of relying on cloud services from Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle.
The overall project is expected to cost more than $500 billion, including the Nvidia chips that will power the data center. The reported $250 billion financing guarantee would cover the data center lease and debt financing but would not include the cost of the Nvidia chips. Nvidia is also said to be discussing financing OpenAI’s chip purchases worth up to $350 billion.
The report said Nvidia’s backing would support financing structures designed to reassure lenders about the project’s long-term funding.
The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in 2028, delivering around 800 megawatts of power. According to the report, the electricity supply is controlled by the U.S. government and funded separately by Japan under a recent trade agreement linked to Tokyo’s $33 billion investment in a natural gas plant. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is reportedly involved in determining access to the power supply.
The report could not be independently verified, and Nvidia, OpenAI, and the U.S. Commerce Department did not respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours.
The report also said OpenAI has been in advanced discussions for several weeks to lease the site. Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google have also reportedly held discussions with Howard Lutnick regarding the project.
The proposed agreement highlights a broader trend of technology companies increasingly turning to debt and equity markets to fund AI infrastructure, with industry spending expected to exceed $700 billion this year.
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