Nvidia in Talks on $250B Backstop for OpenAI Ohio Data Center

Chip giant Nvidia is in negotiations to provide a financial backstop of roughly $250 billion for OpenAI to support a massive data center project in southern Ohio, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The credit enhancement would allow OpenAI to lease a 10-gigawatt facility built by SoftBank’s power subsidiary, SB Energy, at a decommissioned uranium-enrichment site 50 miles south of Columbus. Including semiconductor hardware, total costs could exceed $500 billion, making it the largest data center development ever announced.

Because OpenAI remains unprofitable and lacks an investment-grade credit rating, Nvidia’s proposed guarantee aims to reassure lenders and secure funding. Deal terms are not final and negotiations could still dissolve.

The $250 billion commitment would apply directly to lease and construction financing, excluding hardware costs. Concurrently, Nvidia is negotiating a separate arrangement to help finance OpenAI’s chip purchases, which could reach $350 billion. Nvidia has previously invested $30 billion in the artificial intelligence startup.