Nvidia Eyes $250B Guarantee for OpenAI’s Massive Ohio AI Data Center Project

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is reportedly in discussions to provide a financial guarantee worth approximately $250 billion for OpenAI as part of an ambitious artificial intelligence data center project in Ohio, according to a Wall Street Journal report. If completed, the agreement would become one of the largest financing deals ever tied to the AI industry.

The proposed guarantee would support OpenAI’s lease of a planned 10-gigawatt AI data center campus in southern Ohio. The massive facility is being developed by SoftBank’s energy subsidiary and is expected to play a key role in expanding AI infrastructure to meet surging demand for advanced computing power.

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the negotiations, reported that the entire project could eventually exceed $500 billion in total costs, including the Nvidia GPUs required to power the facilities. By backing the lease and construction financing, Nvidia would help developers obtain more favorable borrowing terms, easing concerns among lenders about OpenAI’s lack of an investment-grade credit rating.

The report noted that the proposed guarantee would apply only to lease and construction financing and would not cover Nvidia chip purchases. However, Nvidia is also reportedly exploring a separate financing arrangement to support OpenAI’s acquisition of AI processors, a package that could reach roughly $350 billion.

Construction is expected to proceed in phases, with the first stage targeting approximately 800 megawatts of power capacity by 2028. Once fully completed, the 10-gigawatt campus would rank among the world’s largest AI-focused data center developments, reinforcing the growing race among technology companies to secure infrastructure capable of supporting next-generation AI models.

While negotiations continue, the agreement has not been finalized, and the report cautioned that terms remain subject to change. As a result, there is no certainty the financing package will be completed. Nevertheless, the discussions underscore Nvidia’s expanding role beyond AI chip manufacturing, positioning the company as a strategic financing partner in some of the industry's most capital-intensive infrastructure projects.