Nvidia is negotiating a $3 billion Nvidia SB Energy investment for a massive planned OpenAI data center in Ohio, sources revealed on August 15, 2026. The proposed funding deal forms part of broader discussions to provide roughly $100 billion in credit support for the facility. The move comes as tech giants rush to build unprecedented artificial intelligence computing infrastructure across the country.
For context, SoftBank subsidiary SB Energy is constructing a colossal 10-gigawatt computing facility in Piketon, Ohio, designed specifically to host OpenAI workloads. The project would become the largest data center campus ever disclosed if completed, consuming as much electricity as an entire medium-sized state. However, the eye-popping scale requires complex financing structures that have left even deep-pocketed tech giants treading carefully.
Wall Street Jitters Around the Nvidia SB Energy Investment
Under the terms currently under discussion, Nvidia would invest half of the $3 billion when final contracts for the Ohio site are signed. The remaining half would follow during SB Energy’s planned initial public offering, which could land as early as next month. SB Energy aims to raise at least $5 billion through its public listing to fund ongoing power and infrastructure buildouts across the region.
Nvidia did not immediately respond to requests for comment outside regular business hours. Representatives for OpenAI declined to comment on the pending arrangement, while SB Energy also did not respond to inquiries.
The equity deal comes on the heels of reports that Nvidia recently scaled back its proposed financial guarantee for the Ohio campus. Initial talks involved a total financial backstop of $250 billion. However, Nvidia revised that pledge down to under $120 billion to limit its direct risk exposure.
Can you blame investors for getting nervous when chipmakers start acting like bank lenders for their own buyers?
Wall Street grew uneasy over circular financing risks, where hardware sellers guarantee the debt of unprofitable software platforms. Shares of Nvidia slipped five percent when news of the original quarter-trillion-dollar guarantee first surfaced last month. By capping its initial guarantee to cover only the first phase of the Ohio build, Nvidia is attempting to reassure cautious shareholders.
The revised guarantee specifically covers construction debt and lease obligations for the first five gigawatts of capacity. Funding commitments for the second phase remain undecided and will be evaluated later.
Balancing AI Infrastructure Risks With the Nvidia SB Energy Investment
To further insulate its balance sheet, Nvidia partnered with six major financial institutions on August 10, 2026, to launch dedicated compute financing platforms. That initiative aims to draw in over $500 billion in third-party capital for artificial intelligence hardware deployments. Shifting debt obligations to institutional investors allows Nvidia to fuel chip demand without taking on total default risk.
For OpenAI, getting the 10-gigawatt Ohio campus operational remains a crucial piece of its long-term strategy. The company wants direct control over the physical server farms powering its AI algorithms. Yet funding multi-billion-dollar commitments is no simple task for a firm that remains unprofitable despite holding an $852 billion valuation.
Getting this massive amount of power online requires serious capital, wild logistics, and unprecedented cooperation across state lines.
Nvidia’s proposed equity purchase gives SoftBank the financial backing needed to advance construction in Pike County. The arrangement also includes roughly $100 billion in credit support from Nvidia, establishing a safety net for lenders funding the groundwork.
Yet buying chips for a facility of this magnitude is a whole different beast. Hardware procurement alone for a fully outfitted 10-gigawatt site could cost up to $350 billion in separate financing arrangements. That hardware cost sits completely outside the construction lease guarantees currently being negotiated.
(Which makes you wonder how many more creative credit deals tech executives will invent before Wall Street draws a line in the sand.)
Negotiations between Nvidia, OpenAI, and SoftBank remain fluid and could change before formal agreements are finalized. Meanwhile, SB Energy continues preparing for its public debut. Retail investors will soon get their own chance to weigh in on the true cost of artificial intelligence.
Athaliah Mejares is a writer with experience covering news and feature stories across a range of topics. As a former junior editor for International Business Times UK, she contributed articles on current events, entertainment, and trending stories, delivering timely and engaging content to a global audience. She is passionate about clear, accurate storytelling and creating content that keeps readers informed.
