Nvidia scales back funding guarantee for Ohio OpenAI data centre: WSJ

Nvidia has revised its plans to support ​a proposed OpenAI data ​center project in Ohio and is now ​expected to initially guarantee less than $120 billion, down from the $250 billion previously discussed, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing ‌people familiar ⁠with ⁠the matter.

The Journal said Nvidia and OpenAI are nearing an agreement, with the chipmaker expected to provide a financial backstop only for the first phase of the project. A deal could be signed as early as this weekend, according to the report.

The change ⁠were made ‌after investors raised concerns about Nvidia's ​risk exposure ​tied to large financing commitments, the newspaper ⁠said.


This came after Nvidia on Monday partnered with six major financial institutions to launch compute financing platforms aimed at raising over $500 billion in third-party capital for AI infrastructure.

OpenAI is still discussing a binding lease for the full 10-gigawatt project in Ohio, WSJ said. The site is being ‌developed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank, and would be the largest data ​center project ​announced to date ⁠if completed.

Nvidia did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. OpenAI declined to ​comment.

The project would help OpenAI move toward owning AI infrastructure, although its ability to fund large-scale commitments remains under scrutiny because the company is unprofitable despite a valuation of $852 billion.