Nvidia Plans $250 Billion Backing for OpenAI’s Massive Data Centre Project
Nvidia is allegedly in talks to give a $250 billion financial assurance for OpenAI’s mammoth AI data center project in Ohio, perhaps one of the largest AI infrastructure finance deals on record. The initiative, which would include Nvidia AI chips, may cost more than $500 billion in total.
The enormous data centre project in Ohio is being facilitated by Nvidia, who are reportedly in discussions to offer OpenAI a financial guarantee of over $250 billion. If finalised, this agreement would be one of the biggest AI finance deals ever. A 10-gigawatt data centre campus is being created in southern Ohio by SoftBank's energy company, and OpenAI would be able to lease it with the support of the guarantee.
Including the cost of Nvidia processors to outfit the facilities, the report estimated that the project might end up costing over $500 billion. With Nvidia's support, OpenAI would be able to get a better loan deal from lenders who were worried about the company's investment-grade credit rating.
Nvidia Structuring Strong Bond with OpenAI
The planned guarantee would pay for the building finance and lease, but not the Nvidia chip purchase. In addition, OpenAI's chip purchases—which might amount to over $350 billion—are being considered by Nvidia through a different financing arrangement. The first stage of the project is set to wrap up in 2028 and is anticipated to provide approximately 800 MW of power. The deal is still up in the air since the talks have not concluded and the conditions have not been set in stone.
This project is an integral part of the framework of the U.S.-Japan trade agreement. Japan agreed to invest $550 billion in the United States, with $33 billion going toward this power plant project specifically. As one of the primary stakeholders, OpenAI has been involved in the site lease negotiations for a number of weeks. The initiative has also attracted interest from Anthropic, Microsoft (MSFT), and Google (GOOGL), all of whom have lately contacted Lutnick. The parties involved are still in the midst of ongoing negotiations; therefore, the transaction is not finalised, and its conditions are open to change. Nvidia will play a crucial role in OpenAI's infrastructure expansion and supply chips if the deal is finalised.
Nvidia Backs NAVER with $1 Billion
As part of a larger initiative to enhance AI data center infrastructure in South Korea, NVIDIA Corp plans to invest approximately $1 billion in NAVER Corp. The plan was unveiled on July 25th, during South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's attendance at the AI Summit in San Francisco.
Further, it would increase the capacity of NAVER's GAK Sejong AI data centre from 55 MW to 200 MW by 2028. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd has offered a funding proposal of up to $9 billion to support the AI infrastructure. According to a regulatory filing made by NAVER on 27 July, NVIDIA intends to invest $1 billion and will purchase 7.2 million newly issued shares at 204,500 KRW ($139.45) each. This represents a reduction of around 1% to NAVER's closing price on 24 July.
