Nvidia weighs $3 billion SB Energy stake as it trims Ohio data-center backstop

Nvidia is in talks to invest as much as $3 billion in SB Energy, the SoftBank-backed developer building OpenAI’s planned data-center campus in Ohio, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The talks would tighten the chipmaker’s financial ties to the infrastructure underpinning OpenAI’s growth. Nvidia has reportedly discussed funding half of the $3 billion once the Ohio project deal is signed and the rest through SB Energy’s planned initial public offering, which could come as soon as next month and raise at least $5 billion. That investment sits inside broader talks in which Nvidia would provide roughly $100 billion in credit support for the campus.

At the same time, Nvidia has moved to cap its exposure. It has reportedly cut its financial backstop for the same 10-gigawatt Ohio project, built on a decommissioned uranium-enrichment site near Pike County, to less than $120 billion, down from the roughly $250 billion discussed earlier. The reduced guarantee would cover only the first phase, about 5 gigawatts of the planned build. OpenAI is still negotiating a binding lease for the full campus, with a deal possibly signed as early as the weekend.

The maneuvering shows how much capital OpenAI’s expansion now requires. OpenAI remains unprofitable despite an $852 billion valuation. Nvidia has separately assembled a preliminary $500 billion AI-infrastructure financing platform with Apollo, BlackRock, Blackstone, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs and KKR, structured to let outside investors fund AI buildouts without loading its own balance sheet.

None of Nvidia, OpenAI or SB Energy has confirmed the discussions, and the terms could change before any agreement is signed.