Nvidia has agreed to provide up to $105 billion in credit support to help OpenAI lease a colossal data center campus in Pike County, Ohio, developed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank.
The agreement, announced on August 17, covers credit support for land, power, and shell elements of the Ohio facility. On top of the $105 billion commitment, Nvidia is making a separate $1.5 billion equity investment directly into SB Energy.
In exchange, Nvidia becomes the exclusive chip and infrastructure provider for the campus. The facility will run on Nvidia’s full-stack DSX AI factory platform, meaning every piece of silicon powering OpenAI’s workloads at this site will carry Nvidia’s logo.
The project is called the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus, and its initial phase targets 4.25 GW of capacity with expansion options that could push the total to 8 GW over 20 years. First operations are expected to come online in 2028.
SB Energy plans to build at least 10 GW of new power generation and invest $4.2 billion in regional grid infrastructure through a partnership with AEP Ohio.
From $250B to $105B: a more grounded approach
Earlier discussions in 2026 had floated a proposed financing backstop in the neighborhood of $250 billion. That figure raised eyebrows across Wall Street, with some analysts questioning whether the arrangement amounted to circular financing, where money effectively looped between parties without creating real economic value.
The scaled-down $105 billion figure represents Nvidia’s pivot toward securing long-term infrastructure commitments rather than circular financing. Credit support isn’t the same as writing a $105 billion check. Nvidia is backstopping leases and infrastructure costs, meaning the actual cash outlay depends on how the project develops and whether OpenAI meets its obligations.
The economic footprint in Ohio
The project is expected to generate approximately 35,000 construction jobs through 2032 and around 2,500 long-term operating positions once the campus reaches maturity. Community investments are anchored by an $80 million benefits fund designed to support the surrounding region. For a rural Ohio county that was previously home to a decommissioned uranium enrichment facility (that’s the “PORTS” in the campus name, referring to the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant), this represents a dramatic economic pivot.