OpenAI is negotiating with Nvidia for a financing backstop worth as much as $250 billion to help fund a planned 10 gigawatt AI data‑centre campus in Pike County, Ohio, CNBC reports. The guarantee would let OpenAI raise lease and construction debt on the strength of Nvidia’s credit; the companies say the talks are ongoing and the terms remain subject to change.
Confirmed details of the Nvidia–OpenAI talks
CNBC cites a person familiar with the discussions who said Nvidia and OpenAI are negotiating a backstop of up to $250 billion to support OpenAI’s plan to lease and build a 10 gigawatt data‑centre campus in Pike County, Ohio. That source told CNBC the guarantee would cover lease and construction financing, explicitly not the cost of Nvidia chips inside the site, and that talks are confidential and in flux.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the negotiations, and CNBC says another source confirmed the project could cost more than $500 billion in total. The Ohio site was previously a uranium‑enrichment plant, and CNBC’s analysis of Energy Information Administration data put 10 gigawatts roughly equivalent to the annual power consumption of about 8 million U.S. households.
CNBC also notes prior public ties between the firms: in September Nvidia had said it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI as part of a strategic partnership that never fully materialised, although Nvidia contributed $30 billion to OpenAI’s funding round in March. Nvidia declined to comment to CNBC for this report.
How the proposed backstop would work
According to the CNBC source, the backstop would permit OpenAI to issue debt backed by Nvidia’s balance sheet or creditworthiness so lenders would feel secure financing the long‑term lease and construction costs of the Ohio campus. The reported guarantee is focused on real‑estate and infrastructure liabilities rather than hardware procurement: the companies are reportedly discussing the purchase or deployment of Nvidia systems separately.
SoftBank and SB Energy are identified in the CNBC piece as partners on the Ohio development, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy; SoftBank is also a major investor in OpenAI and earlier this year agreed with OpenAI to invest $1 billion in SB Energy. CNBC’s sourcing stresses that both the site plan and financing remain under negotiation and could change.
Why it matters
A backstop on this scale would convert Nvidia’s corporate credit into leverage for one company’s capacity buildout, effectively enabling OpenAI to accelerate a very large physical expansion without needing to fund the full cost up front. CNBC frames the move as OpenAI’s response to surging demand for compute amid competition from Anthropic, Google, Amazon and Meta — firms the report says are collectively spending hundreds of billions on capex for AI infrastructure.
Practically, a firm guarantee from Nvidia would lower the financing hurdle for the Ohio campus and could speed construction and leasing timelines if lenders accept the arrangement. Because the guarantee is reported to exclude the chips themselves, Nvidia’s role would primarily be financial and reputational support for the property and power‑capacity elements of the build, while chip procurement remains a separate commercial negotiation.
Infrastructure and market implications
CNBC’s report links this financing to broader structural dynamics in the AI market. OpenAI’s drive for large, dedicated capacity reflects a strategy to secure long horizon compute; private investors value OpenAI at nearly $1 trillion, the story says, and the company has confidentially filed for an IPO with the SEC as of June. Nvidia’s involvement — ranging from the earlier $30 billion capital contribution to discussions about system deployments and now a potential credit backstop — would further bind chip supplier and AI service provider interests.
The report also highlights the sheer scale of the proposed campus. A 10 gigawatt site represents industrial‑scale power demand and a potentially material shift in where and how AI compute capacity is located and financed. CNBC underscores that such concentrated spending and partnership structures could alter competitive dynamics among hyperscalers, cloud providers and AI companies that are each investing heavily in their own infrastructure.
What to watch next
CNBC emphasises that the negotiations are ongoing and subject to change. Key open questions include whether Nvidia will formally sign a backstop agreement, the final size and structure of any guarantee, and the separate commercial terms for Nvidia hardware deployments at the campus. Observers should also watch for formal announcements from SoftBank, SB Energy or the Department of Energy given their named roles in the project.
Other milestones to monitor are any lender commitments tied to Nvidia’s credit, regulatory reviews related to the site and power permits in Ohio, and further public disclosures from OpenAI about how the financing fits its longer‑term capital plan and its confidential IPO filing.
The reported talks, if they produce a deal, would convert Nvidia’s balance sheet into a tool for unlocking a record‑scale AI campus, while leaving hardware procurement and final construction details to separate negotiations and approvals.
Source: CNBC