What Nvidia's $105bn Ohio backstop for OpenAI means for you

Nvidia has agreed to back a huge new data centre that OpenAI plans to build in Ohio, guaranteeing up to $105 billion if the project runs into trouble. It is one of the largest financial commitments yet in the race to build the physical infrastructure behind AI.

According to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 17 August 2026, Nvidia will provide up to $105 billion in financing support for an OpenAI data centre at the PORTS-Pike Technology Campus in Pike County, Ohio, CNBC reported.

The site will start with 4.25 gigawatts of power capacity, enough to run vast numbers of the computer chips AI models need, with an option to add another 3.75 gigawatts later. Nvidia will also supply the computing chips themselves. The first 800 megawatts of capacity are expected to come online in 2028.

The data centre will be built and operated by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank in which OpenAI holds a stake and where Sam Altman was an early investor, then leased to OpenAI for 20 years, according to Data Center Knowledge.

Importantly, Nvidia's $105 billion is mostly a guarantee, not cash handed over upfront. The company's exposure is tied to the "residual value" of the leased facility and capped at that figure. If SB Energy defaults and the equipment is worth less than promised, Nvidia covers the shortfall. OpenAI, in turn, has agreed to repay Nvidia for anything it pays out.

Alongside the data centre, SB Energy and SoftBank plan to build power infrastructure for 10 gigawatts and invest at least $4.2 billion in the local electricity grid. Nvidia is separately investing $1.5 billion directly in SB Energy. OpenAI says the project will create 35,000 construction jobs through 2032 and 2,500 permanent jobs.

The numbers have shifted over time: earlier reports said Nvidia was discussing a backstop of up to $250 billion for 10 gigawatts, which was later cut to under $120 billion before settling at $105 billion.

The deal follows agreements Nvidia struck the week before with six major investors, Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR, to raise more than $500 billion from outside investors for AI infrastructure.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang defended the arrangement, saying: "We are securing long-lived infrastructure for NVIDIA compute so OpenAI can deploy the most productive AI factories."

This deal does not change what you can do with AI tools today. But it shows how much money is being committed to build the data centres that power services like ChatGPT, and who is taking on the risk if those bets do not pay off.

Some critics describe this as circular financing: Nvidia, which sells the chips OpenAI needs, is also guaranteeing the money that lets OpenAI buy more of them. Huang has rejected that characterisation.

Construction and power build-out are expected to continue through 2032, with the first phase of computing capacity due online in 2028. The notes do not say whether the additional 3.75 gigawatts option will be exercised, or how the wider financing deals with other investors will affect the project.