OpenAI eyes major Ohio data center deal with Nvidia support

OpenAI is reportedly in talks to lease a proposed 10-gigawatt data center campus on federal land in Ohio, marking a significant deal that could include financial support from Nvidia, according to details revealed by The Information on Tuesday.

According to the report, the campus could cost at least $500 billion to build based on current prices for chips, labor, power and other inputs.

Additional reports demonstrated that OpenAI would control the equipment at the facility under a 20-year lease with payments starting once operations begin; the first phase is expected in 2028.

The facility is among the largest of its kind and would be developed by SB Energy-a unit of SoftBank on Department of Energy land in southern Ohio. 

Details reveal that Nvidia is expected to supply hardware for the facility and provide a financial guarantee for OpenAI’s lease and SB Energy’s financing.

It has been observed that earlier the ChatGPT maker paused its planned Stargate data center in the UK, citing high energy costs and regulatory uncertainty.

It is pertinent to mention that Apollo and Blackstone are financing a $35 billion AI capacity expansion for Anthropic using Broadcom chips. 

OpenAI would also be responsible for payments once its own project starts as the first phase of the broader platform is expected to begin in 2028.