OpenAI weighs leasing Ohio data center with Nvidia backing: Report

OpenAI is in talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, in a deal that could include financial backing from Nvidia, The Information reported on Tuesday, citing two people with direct knowledge ‌of ⁠the discussions.
Here ⁠are some details:

The campus could cost at least $500 billion to build, based on current prices for chips, labour, power and other inputs, the report said.


OpenAI would control the equipment at the facility under a 20-year lease, with payments starting once operations ⁠begin; the ‌first phase is expected in 2028, the report added.

The facility, among the largest ⁠of its kind, would be developed by SB Energy, a unit of SoftBank, on Department of Energy land in southern Ohio.

Nvidia is expected to supply hardware in the facility and provide a financial guarantee for OpenAI's lease and SB Energy's financing, according to the report.

Reuters ‌could not immediately verify the report. OpenAI and Nvidia did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment ⁠outside regular business hours.

Earlier this year, the ChatGPT maker paused its proposed 'Stargate' data centre project in the UK, citing regulatory hurdles and high energy costs.

Separately, Apollo and Blackstone are financing a $35 billion AI capacity expansion for Anthropic using Broadcom chips, Reuters reported this week.