Backing the deal would lock in chip demand while deepening Nvidia's exposure to a single customer's infrastructure bet
Nvidia is in talks to provide a $250 billion financing guarantee for a 10-gigawatt data center in Ohio, part of a project whose total cost could exceed $500 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. That figure would make it the largest data center build in history. The facility is overseen by SoftBank and planned to come online in 2028.
The guarantee structure matters as much as the dollar figure. Nvidia would not build or own the facility. It would backstop OpenAI's ability to lease computing capacity, a commitment that turns Nvidia from a chip supplier into a balance-sheet partner for OpenAI's long-term infrastructure strategy.
What Nvidia gets from the arrangement
A facility of this scale, filled with AI accelerators, guarantees demand for Nvidia's chips years into the future. If OpenAI controls its infrastructure directly rather than renting capacity from hyperscalers like Microsoft Azure, procurement decisions flow straight to Nvidia instead of through a cloud intermediary with its own chip diversification interests.
At 10 gigawatts, the Ohio project would dwarf existing AI data center campuses. A large hyperscale facility today typically runs between 100 and 500 megawatts. Committing to that power footprint through 2028 and beyond requires the financing certainty that a Nvidia guarantee would give lenders and landlords.
The concentration risk that comes with scale
Nvidia would be guaranteeing debt tied to a single customer's infrastructure lease. OpenAI's revenue is growing but has not been independently verified against the capital commitments it is accumulating. SoftBank, which is overseeing the project, carries a history of large technology bets with uneven outcomes.
A $250 billion guarantee is a contingent liability larger than any Nvidia has taken on in a single transaction. Nvidia's market capitalization has exceeded $3 trillion in recent periods, which puts the scale in context. A guarantee is not a cash outlay, though, and the actual exposure depends on deal terms that have not been made public. The talks are ongoing and terms have not been finalized. No agreement has been announced.
OpenAI's infrastructure independence play
For OpenAI, the Ohio project marks a shift away from dependence on Microsoft's cloud infrastructure. The company has relied heavily on Azure for training and inference capacity, an arrangement that limits its ability to control costs, hardware choices, and deployment timelines at scale.
Leasing dedicated capacity at 10 gigawatts would give OpenAI operational independence it does not currently have. Whether that independence justifies the obligations attached to a $500 billion lease commitment is a question the company's board and investors will need to answer as negotiations progress.
The 2028 target date is the nearest concrete checkpoint. By then, whether Nvidia's guarantee has been finalized, revised, or abandoned will determine whether this becomes the defining infrastructure deal of the current AI cycle or a case of ambition outpacing execution.
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